


How to love a Witch

by MiriamMT



Series: Gallavich FanFiction [12]
Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: 21st Century, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Witchcraft, Bipolar Disorder, Bipolar Ian Gallagher, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Ian Gallagher Loves Mickey Milkovich, M/M, Mpreg, Soulmates, Terry Milkovich Bashing, Terry Milkovich Being an Asshole, Witches
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-23
Updated: 2020-10-12
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:54:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 28,741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26606329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiriamMT/pseuds/MiriamMT
Summary: Ian Gallagher has been diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder. He is sure, the disorder will ruin his life and he will end up like his mother. There is a legend in his town about a powerful wood witch - so he looks for her, hoping she could heal him. Surprisingly, the witch is not a woman, as the legend says, it's a man. A beautiful man Ian can't stay away from.This is set in the 21st century, Ian's hometown is not Chicago, it's a small town that appears a little stuck in time, though they have internet, smartphones etc. since the witch lives in a hut in the woods, however, everything is a less modern there.
Relationships: Ian Gallagher/Mickey Milkovich
Series: Gallavich FanFiction [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1551802
Comments: 43
Kudos: 141





	1. The Legend of the Wood Witch

**Author's Note:**

> So... this is very different from my other works. But I love witches, I love fantasy stuff.  
> I'm actually spending a lot of my time with world-building for a (very very queer) Fantasy novel for over a year already. - that world building has nothing to do with what you're about to read here tho.  
> Also, since my favourite Holiday Halloween is coming up I'm feeling especially driven towards fantasy and magic and witches again. This idea came into my head and I hope you can enjoy it, even though it's pretty far away from the canon. But the main marks will be met - Ian and mickey in love, Terry is an asshole, Ian's family is poor, his siblings don't know how to deal with his disorder etc etc.

Ian slowly made his way through the dark, thick forest at the edge of his little town. It was a land almost untouched by men, not because no one ever tried to build here, but because something always seemed to ... stop them. 

Every building project had to be cancelled for various reasons, wildlife, climate protection, problems with the ground.... trees who just didn't want to be cut - a tale told by one of the construction workers no one wanted to believe.

Over the last 100 years, a legend developed around the forest. A powerful witch was said to live in the forest and protect it. Over the years, several people tried to find her, but always came back empty-handed.... or not at all.

Ian Gallagher, a young 19-year-old boy, lived with his father and 5 siblings in a tiny house in the poor neighbourhood. It was the 21st century, they had smartphones, computers, and TV, they lived only half an hour away from a big city.

And yet, Ian sometimes felt like he was living in an old, medieval village. They had a pub, the town drunk (which was his father), an old spinster who told crazy tales about witches and sold Crystals, and Ian’s family was so in need for money, that selling a child for the ability to spin straw into gold seemed downright reasonable. Once, Ian's parents even forgot his siblings Carl and Debbie in the woods and they were sure, they were almost eaten by a cannibal. And then there was the legend of the witch in the woods.

Ian's mother had abandoned him and his siblings several times over the years. She was a sick woman, who refused to take her medication. Sometimes she forgot about them and left them somewhere, sometimes she just left the house on impulse and didn't come back for a year. Sometimes she was so high that she didn't see or hear you when you stood right in front of her.

And now, Ian was diagnosed with the same sickness that turned his mother into the failure she was... well, the sickness and the drugs.

Ian wanted to be better. Ian wanted to take his medication, something his mother never did, and when he would take the meds and stay on top of this thing, it would be alright. It didn't mean he was doomed to end up like his mother, too... right?

Ian lived with the fear of becoming her for almost a year before he decided he couldn't take it anymore. If there really was a witch living in the forest .... maybe she could help him. Heal him.

That's why he was walking through the forest right now, trying to find that legendary witch.

He was wandering for hours, he never realised how big this forest actually was. He already wanted to give up, when he suddenly heard a voice - someone was talking... but Ian didn't hear anyone answering.

Ian followed the voice until the trees opened up and left a round glade in the middle of them. And there stood a hut.

A wooden witch hut which looked more like it was grown from the earth than build from a person, around it grew many fruit trees and flowers and vegetables. And there stood a person watering the garden while speaking to the tomatoes.

When Ian imagined the witch, he imagined an old, small woman with long white hair, hunched over, walking with a cane.

But there stood a man. A young man with black, slicked back hair in a long green cloak.

Ian came closer, the minute he stepped into the glade, the man looked up and Ian could see his face. He was probably the most beautiful man Ian had ever seen.

Ian came closer and the man looked at him weirdly.

"Hello? I'm sorry to bother you, but I'm looking for... well, a wood witch.", Ian said slowly, realizing how crazy he must sound... then again he was talking to a guy who was dressed like a fairy tale character and lived in the woods where he talked to his tomatoes.

The man came to him now, "What do you want?", he asked harshly and stared at him with intense blue eyes, that seemed to hypnotise Ian.

"I..."

"How did you find me? You shouldn't be able to find or see me, unless-", he stepped back and then raised his arms, quicker than Ian could register, he was lifted into the air by something hard grabbing him by the waist.

Ian looked down to see that... was that a tree branch? A tree branch was curled around his waist and held him in the air.

"What the fuck?", Ian screamed, "Let me down! Let me fucking down!"

The more Ian moved the tighter the branch seemed to get. He was brought down to the witch again, but not so he could stand on the ground, but so that he could look Ian in the eyes.

"Who are you? Only someone with magic could find me here."

"I'm not - I don't- what?"

The witch raised his hand again, but this time touched Ian, he lay his hand near Ian's heart as if he was to feel his heartbeat.

He looked at him again, squinting, "You're not a witch, nor any other kind of magic user."

"If I was why would I need to come to you, I could just help myself! Now let me down!"

The witch nodded and spoke to the tree, "Let him down"

Ian fell to the ground without warning, "Ow!", he complained and looked up.

"Still, you shouldn't be able to find me. The only people who can find someone like me and see through this spell are witches and... huh"

"What?"

"Nothing", he mumbled but now looked at him differently, not like a threat, but as if he was taking in his appearance now, "What do you want?"

Ian quickly stood up and brushed the dirt from his clothes, "So you are a... wizard?"

"Wizard?! I'm a witch!"

"But... you're a guy."

"So?"

"I thought girls are witches and guys are wizards..."

"Who in the five hells taught you that crap? I'm a witch - garden, wand, hut: witch. Wizards live in towers and spend their whole life in stinking laboratories, you fool! What do you want to call me next? A weasel? A vampire?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to insult you", Ian said quickly, "I just need your help."

"I don't help humans.", he said and then turned around to return to his garden, Ian followed him.

"Why not?"

"Because you are an ungrateful lot who kill witches after they helped you. Hence the spell."

"I wouldn't kill you. I just need... healing."

"Healing? You don't look sick."

"But I am sick. I need you to heal me... please."

The witch just shook his head and then kept watering his plants.

Ian stood by an apple tree and looked at him helplessly.

"Do you have a name?", he asked eventually.

"Of course, I have a name, do you think my mother placed me in this world without one? Just called me kid all my life?"

"I didn't know you had a mother"

"Most witches do. I had a father too, in case you wondered."

"Well, where are they?"

The witch looked up at him, "Why do you care? Do you think you can play nicey-nice, so I help you?"

Ian shrugged, "Listen, my name is Ian Gallagher, I need your help, I'm sick... I-I'll even find a way to pay you somehow if you just help me."

"Pay? What would I need money for? I grow my own food and, not to state the obvious, but I'm a witch."

"So? Can you spin straw into gold or something?"

"I don't know, I never tried it. I don't care about gold and money, just like I don't care about humans, humans like you."

Ian sighed, "Okay... I guess I'm leaving then. Can I at least get your name?"

"Mikhailo."

"It's a nice name... witchy."

"Ukrainian, actually."

Ian nodded, "Goodbye, Mikhailo."


	2. You don't hit houses, ever

Ian couldn't forget about the witch. He was truly a beautiful man and he had something about him... their connection was almost magnetic. He wanted to get back to him so desperately without even knowing why. Mikhailo hadn't been very nice to him and yet he had to stop himself every day from looking for him again. It got so bad, he even dreamed of him.

Not even two weeks later, he found himself wandering through the woods again. He didn't even need to try finding the way, he just instinctively knew where to go, and he stumbled upon the hut again.

Mikhailo wasn't in his little garden, so Ian went to the door and knocked against the wood, a deep, unpleasant sound came from the hut, but Mikhailo didn't. He knocked again, with more force again, in response the door suddenly sprang open and hit him in the face repeatedly.

"What are you doing?", Mikhailo's voice came from behind him, and a firm hand grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the aggressive door, "You can't just hit her like that!"

"Who me?"

"Yeah you!"

"I didn't hit anyone", he said and put his hand on his hurting face.

"You hit my house."

Ian looked at the man, "You call your house 'her'?"

"Yeah. And she doesn't like being hit. Now apologize."

"I'm supposed to apologize to your house?"

"Do you want her to hit you again?"

Ian scrunched up his face and looked at the door, "Sorry, house... I just wanted to knock."

Another sound came from the house.

"Well, that’s fucking freaky", Ian mumbled, "Why exactly is your house alive?"

Mikhailo let go of his arm and shrugged, "My family has always made living houses, they protect us. My great-great-grandmother on my mother's side had a house that walked and spun on chicken legs."

Mikhailo smiled as if it was his dearest childhood memory – and Ian thought of him as even more beautiful. He wondered, like so often in the past two weeks, if Mikhailo maybe cast a spell over him, that made him feel so strangely. Then again, Mikhailo didn't really want him here.

"Why are you here again?", the witch asked, "I still don't see a sign of sickness, nor a sign that it got worse."

"Why are you so against performing magic on humans?", Ian asked curiously, "Except when it comes to letting them be thrown into the air by trees."

Mikhailo's eyes darkened and he stepped away from Ian, "Because if I use it on you to do bad, you're scared. When I use it on you to do good, I'm strengthening you and you kill me."

"I need your help to be healed, I wouldn't burn you on the stake for that."

"Of course, you wouldn't.", Mikhailo shook his head, "Burning witches was a European thing, the Americans never did it. You had other ways.", he looked down and noticed Ian was carrying a bag, "What's that?"

"Oh, it's a present... for you."

The witch looked at him confused.

"I saw it this morning and thought about you.", he shrugged and opened the bag to reveal a rosebush Mikhailo could plant into his garden, "You have a lot of fruits and vegetables, but not many flowers here."

Mikhailo started smiling again when Ian gave him the rose bush, "Thank you", he mumbled and then walked through his garden to his flowers, where he sunk to the ground and let his tools fly over to him, so he could plant his new friend.

"You really love this garden, don't you?", Ian asked, "Did you grow up here?"

"No", Mikhailo smiled and shook his head, "I grew up in your town actually."

"Really?"

"Yes, I know of your big legend about the witch protecting this forest. It was my mother. My family protected this forest since my grandmother came here with my mother shortly after her birth. But no one found her in the forest because we didn't live in it. We lived among you. To my grandmother's time all the people in town knew about us, they came to her to solve all of their problems."

Ian now guessed where Mikhailo's hate for the people came from, "And then they killed her?", he asked.

"No, they were always quite nice. But at some point, communication between people got better and we had to strip the whole town off their memories about us. We still lived with them, but they couldn't remember our magic."

"What happened then? Why do you hide out here now? Where is your family?"

Mikhailo looked at him and sighed, "I said too much already. Now you have to tell me about you. Something else than you being sick, perhaps?"

Ian smiled and shrugged, "My father is the town drunk. I have five siblings, my parents were always somewhere doing something, so my sister raised us. My brother went to some fancy college at the east coast with a scholarship, the rest of us... well, we'll be here until we die, I guess, we don't have money to go anywhere."

"Do you want to go anywhere?", Mikhailo asked.

Ian shrugged and looked at the witch, "Not right now. Generally, ... I just want to live somewhere where I can be accepted, where I can fall in love and have my own family and just... live."

"Humble dreams", Mikhailo said and almost sounded confused, "So what's stopping you?"

"Besides being completely broke?", he shrugged, "I'm sick. I can't be left alone. I can't trouble my family with it, my future partner would have to play nurse sometimes. I would... end up like my mom. I can't let that happen."

Mikhailo finished planting the roses, he looked at Ian and smiled at him. He raised his hand and touched Ian's wounded face. Ian could feel the pain from the door ebbing away... Mikhailo healed his injuries.

"Do you want tea?", he asked eventually.

"Tea?"

Mikhailo nodded, "I make it myself. I believe I also have some cookies left."

Ian smiled, "Are you gonna put me into a cage and cook me if I say yes to the tea?"

"There is only one way to find out, is there?"

Ian smiled and stood up, the witch stood up too and led him to the house, Ian looked at it uncertainly.

"As long as you don't hit her, you have nothing to fear from her.", he reassured him, and Ian followed him into the house.

The furniture inside was all wooden too, there was no TV but a huge cauldron in the middle of the kitchen. Dried plants hung on the walls and jars with weird potion ingredients stood around everywhere.

"Sit down", Mikhailo said while heating up water for the tea. He lived very old-fashioned out here, except for the stove and the fridge Ian couldn't see any modern appliances.

"Are your... are your furniture's alive too?"

Mikhailo chuckled, "No. Sit on the sofa, I'll be right there."

Ian sat down on the sofa, it was made of dark wood with red cushions. Mikhailo didn't need long to serve the tea.

"You healed me outside", Ian said finally.

"Only the bruise from my door. It's no big deal."

"But why did you?"

Mikhailo shrugged, "You seem different... I mean, you clearly are different than other humans, they would have never found me. I'm shielded from them, it's an ancient but reliable spell."

"Then why did I find you?"

Mikhailo smiled at him, "Maybe I'll tell you the reason one day. Now, tell me about that sickness you claim destroys your life and your plans."

Ian sipped on the tea and told Mikhailo all about his illness, how his mother had the same and how she destroyed their family with it.

"So, it's a sickness of the brain, not the body", Mikhailo concluded.

"Yes. It almost feels like... like a curse, you know?"

"Well, we didn't curse you as far as I know."

"No, I didn't mean to suggest-"

"It's alright. So, you're not looking for an ordinary healing potion. You're looking for a cure... I don't even know if I can treat mental illnesses."

"Can you at least try? Please, Mikhailo... Mick... please help me."

Mikhailo sighed when he looked at his pleading eyes, a strand of red hair fell over his eye and Mikhailo raised his hand to stroke the strand back to where it belonged.

"Okay, I'll try and look through my mother's books if I find something."

Ian started grinning relieved and hugged the witch, "Thank you, thank you, thank you", he said while pulling the man closer in his arms, "This means so much to me."


	3. Runic tattoos

Ian was on his way home leaving the thick forest, which grew darker very suddenly and quickly. His mind was still on Mikhailo when he reached the edge of the forest and the first few houses came to sight.

He heard the loud roaring of motorcycles, he knew only a few people had motorcycles in this town - Terry Milkovich and his companions most of which were part of his family, but one could never really tell where the family began and ended.

Ian didn't want to meet the violent man. He only knew what was told about him in the town. He had lost his children and wife years ago, when Ian was still a child, and that had made him crazy. He talked about witches, magic, and darkness all the time. It was hard to say if he was just sad, grieving, or downright crazy.

Now, that Ian knew of the witch in the woods, he wondered, if Terry also actually knew about him or if he really was just crazy. One Way Or Another he was violent, he was dangerous, and Ian didn't want to cross paths with him.

Ian hit behind the tree, but it was no use. it didn't take long until the motorcycles got closer and Terry Milkovich appeared next to him, he stopped his machine and looked down at him.

" what are you doing in these woods?"

"I was just... hiking around."

" we're looking for the witch", Terry grunted," have you seen the wicked creature? He should look like a dude. Damn faggot witch."

Ian blinked up at him... he knew the witch was a man? The legend in town always spoke of a woman, never a man. So, Terry really knew something about Mikhailo.

"Uhm... I didn't see anyone in the forest. Isn't the witch just a legend anyways?"

Terry looked down at him and grunted, he apparently didn't want to discuss this with him, he looked like a man on a mission... a mission to kill a witch.

Terry whistled loudly to gain his companions' attention and then they raced through the woods with their motorcycles, killing the delicate flowers and plants growing between the trees.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ian came back to Mikhailo's hut the next day.

He didn't see him in the garden right away, he walked past the apple trees and looked at the roses Mikhailo had planted, they already had buds that waited to bloom - weird, considering that Ian just bought them yesterday and it wasn't rose season yet.

Ian shrugged it off, it wasn't like he was an expert on flowers. He walked up to the front door. He learned his lesson from the day before and didn't knock. Maybe he could shout for Mikhailo?

"Hello, house...", he said and looked around if he saw Mikhailo anywhere now, "Is Mikhailo inside of... you?"

There was no answer... to wait for an answer from a house was ridiculous anyway, right?

"Do you know where he is?"

All the windows on the right opened as if they were leading Ian into a direction.

Ian walked down the path to his right and rounded the house, behind the hut Ian found more trees, bigger and darker than the apple trees in the front.

"Mikhailo?", Ian asked, "Are you here? Mick?"

He walked through the trees until he found Mikhailo standing behind the hut looking down at a stone.

"There you are", Ian said, Mikhailo looked up at him surprised.

"Ian", he said and smiled, "I didn't expect you so early"

"I couldn't wait to see you", Ian admitted and for a moment he looked confused with himself.

Mikhailo just smiled at him like he knew something Ian didn't know.

"What are you doing back here?", Ian asked.

"Visiting my mother", he said and pointed to the stone in front of him.

Ian now realised that it was indeed a headstone.

"You buried your mother in the backyard?"

Mikhailo nodded and started walking back around the house, putting his hand on Ian's back so he would come with him.

"Hey, something happened yesterday... when I left the forest", Ian said, "Terry Milkovich and his friends raced through the forest on their motorcycles... honestly, it looked like they were on a witch hunt... literally."

Mikhailo nodded, "You met my father then.", he said.

"Terry Milkovich is your father?!"

Mikhailo nodded and led him into the hut.

"But as far as I know his wife and children all died years ago when I was still a child."

Mikhailo just smiled at him, "Do you want tea?"

"Will you tell me the story?", Ian asked.

"Aren't you here because of the healing?"

"Did you find something?"

"Do you want tea?", he asked again.

"Yes, I'd like some tea."

"Good, sit down"

Ian sat down on the couch while the witch prepared the tea.

Ian looked at the various books and papers on the coffee table in front of him. Some of them were written in letters and languages Ian couldn't read, but he could identify pictures of plants and insects.

Mikhailo came over to him with the tea.

"Is this some kind of witch language?", Ian asked.

Mikhailo looked at him with raised eyebrows, "It's Russian."

"Russian?"

"Yeah, I found it in my great-great-grandmas books, she was from Russia."

"I thought your family was from Ukraine. You said your name is Ukrainian."

"My grandmother and mother were born in Ukraine and then came over to America shortly after my mother’s birth. She taught me all kinds of languages I need to read those notes."

"So... did you find something that could help me?"

"Well, witches were never really employed to cure mental illnesses. I found something in her old diary, though. Once a man came to her whose wife suffered from what I think could have been a depression. She healed her. Since depression is a mental illness, maybe it works."

"Or it will only get rid of my depressed episodes and I'm left with mania."

"Hey, I'm not a miracle worker, I can only do so much!"

Ian looked at him with a raised eyebrow, "Mik... you are a witch, isn't that basically a miracle worker?"

"No, this isn't a miracle. It's ingredients, correct measuring, time, talent and magic. It's more like science than a miracle."

Ian looked at the old papers and the Russian letters.

"Your great-great-grandma made this potion from scratch for the woman?"

"Yeah"

"Can't you do the same? If there isn't a potion for it... make one yourself."

Mikhailo bit his bottom lip, "I don't know if I can do that... I never crafted my own potion or my own spell before... also, it would be completely experimental. You could end up worse than you are now."

Ian turned to him and looked at him with honest eyes, he took his hand in his and stroked his thumb over the runes that were inked into Mikhailo’s knuckles, "I trust you, Mick. Please, just try."


	4. Harvesting in the Spring sun

Mikhailo told Ian to come back in two weeks. He needed time to research other options and collect his ingredients.

Ian couldn't wait to see him again. Something about Mikhailo just had such a strong grip on him... he wanted to be around him all the time.

As strange as it may sound, given that they barely knew each other, but it felt like he was falling in love with the witch. But maybe Mikhailo being a witch was the reason it all happened so fast. Maybe some kind of magic was between them... a bond.

Whatever it was it made Ian feel like a magnet who had to get back to his other magnet.

At home, his siblings of course questioned where Ian went all the time. They always watched him with hawk eyes since his diagnosis.

Because Mikhailo needed to find out if his potions work at all, Ian had to stop taking his medication, which he tried to hide from his siblings.

After the week finally passed, he wanted to go to Mikhailo right away in the morning.

"Hey, where are you going again?", Fiona asked before Ian could reach the door.  
“Hiking”, Ian said quickly without turning around to her.  
“Hiking?”, Fiona asked, “Again? In that forest? Ian, one day you won’t find your way back, what then?”  
“I will find my way back, It’s not that complicated.”  
“Do you at least have any phone reception out there?”  
“No, that’s exactly why I’m going.”

Fiona sighed deeply, “Ian, please, I know you’re sad about the diagnosis, but you need to find a job, meet people, get a boyfriend or something and live!”

“A boyfriend in this town? Sure.”, Ian shook his head, “I’ll look for a job when I got this fucking disorder under control, okay?”  
“Are you taking your meds?”  
“Of course, I am”, Ian lied, “Can I go now? And please, don’t worry when I stay away a little longer.”  
“Longer?”  
Ian just nodded and then quickly left the house. 

Ian made his way to the edge of the forest, he never actually knew the way to Mikhailo’s hut. He just followed his instinct and always ended up where he wanted to be.

This time he saw Mikhailo immediately when he reached the glade. He harvested cherries from his cherry trees and put them into a basket.

Ian walked over to him, Mikhailo noticed him when he got closer and smiled at him.  
“Hey”  
“Hi”, Ian smiled, “You’re harvesting?”  
Mikhailo nodded, “You want some? I have cherries, strawberries and raspberries here”  
Ian smiled, looked into the basket and took a strawberry. Mikhailo smiled at him warmly and went on to his apple trees, checking if they were ripe already. He left the apples hanging and went on to his flowers. It still seemed odd to Ian that the roses started to blossom already, at least two buds where almost fully open.

Ian watched Mikhailo tending his garden while sitting in the sunlight in the middle of the garden and eating Mick’s harvest. When he was finished, he sat down beside Ian and ate one of the berries too.

“Your home is so beautiful”, Ian mumbled, “Except the lack of internet.”  
Mikhailo smiled at him, and looked up at the sky, the sun rays hitting his pale skin. Ian wondered, how Mick could stay this pale when he worked in his garden all the time.

“I worked on your potion”, Mick said eventually, “I have an idea, but I have no idea if it will work, if it will do anything or make it worse.”  
“It’s okay. I’ll be your labrat.”  
Mikhailo scooted closer to him, “I don’t get it”, he mumbled while looking at his face, “You said, there are meds for your disorder, why don’t you just take them? Why put your whole sanity into the hands of an inexperienced witch?”

Ian shrugged, “I want to get rid of the whole thing. The meds can’t do that, they make it just less bad. And maybe the disorder will make me not take them anymore. My mom never took hers. And I just… I trust you.”  
“You don’t know anything about me or my abilities. You don’t know if I’m a good witch at all.”  
Ian shrugged, “I have the odd feeling that you will be the solution to all my problems. I know it sounds weird. But from the moment I entered these woods I just always followed my gut. It made me end up here in the first place.”

Mick smiled at him and looked again like he knew something Ian didn’t.  
“Okay, do you want to help me with it?”  
Ian nodded, they got up and went inside.

“Every potion has the same base and then it’s abilities depend on certain ingredients. The base takes one week to sit, if I make that now, I have a week to get the rest of the ingredients I think will… well, at least do something.”

Mick pushed the sleeves of his old grey shirt up and took a book, which could have been a cookbook, from the coffee table. The witch filled the big cauldron with water and asked Ian to pass him some specific jars with herbs and plants Ian had never heard of.

Ian paid more attention to Mikhailo than to the potion he cooked in front of them. The only magic Ian cared about in this room, was the effect Mick had on him. He looked very concentrated while following the instructions in his book. His blue eyes shone through the steam coming out of the cauldron, his hands were small and had ancient runes inked into the knuckles, they were rough from the garden work but looked almost gentle when touching his ingredients or his wand.

It took several hours until they were finished and then sat back outside in the middle of the glade with tea and the rest of the berries. Ian told him stories about his siblings making Mick smile and laugh. Ian looked at the rose bush not far from them and noticed, that now even more buds started to bloom and the two which he noticed before were fully open.

“I’ll go to the other end of the forest tomorrow, look for some things… do you want to come with me?”, Mikhailo asked.  
“Yes, I’d love to.”


	5. Morana

Mikhailo came from a long line of witches. Until today many Russian fairy tales featured his great-great-grandma and her house on chicken legs. His grandmother came to America when his mother was just born. They settled in the town by this forest and didn’t have to hide their powers for long. At first, his grandmother was just the protector of the forest, but then a woman in the town fell ill after giving birth to her fourth child and she healed her.

The townspeople were thankful and vowed to protect the witch from the rest of the world, so she could continue to help them. Morana, Mikhailo’s mother, fell in love with a man named Terrence when she was a teenager. When they grew up, they got engaged and were happy and in love, the man was a gentle soul back then. Communication between the towns and cities got better and even before the internet came, Morana’s mother decided, it was too dangerous for the people to know about their magic, so the two women cast a spell over the whole town, taking everyone’s memories of the magic away. Just the daughter of the woman Morana’s mother had saved all those years before was protected from the spell by accident. She now was the old woman in Ian’s town talking about witches and selling crystals.

They also had to take Terrence’s memories of the magic, but Morana loved him so much, she didn’t want to lose him. They got married and had a son and a daughter: Mikhailo and Amanda. Morana’s mother died eventually and Morana was the protector of the forest now. Without her mother having a close eye on her, Morana became bolder when it came to her magic. She started teaching her children from early on, healed every scrap they had – which eventually caught Terrence’s attention.

Terrence grew obsessed with the idea his wife used magic on their kids and after talking to a priest, was convinced his wife wasn’t his wife anymore – she was a demon possessing his wife’s body, seeking to harm his children.

Terrence became aggressive and hostile towards Morana, who was too caught up in her love for him to realize she was abused almost every day by her husband. Then it happened one day that Terrence was about to hit Morana and little Amanda, only 6 at the time, came in to help her, used the raw magic she had that she could only channel in some basic magic acts her mother taught her. She let a pan flow and let it fall on her father, so he would step away from Morana.

“Amanda, no! What happened to you! What did this creature do to you?”, he turned to Morana, “What did you do to my wife and my daughter? I’m not letting you take her, demon!”  
Morana cried and yelled at him, she wasn’t a demon, she was the same woman she always was. She told him not to lay a finger on her daughter. Terrence then hit her, beat her unconscious. Mikhailo came downstairs to the kitchen where it was happening, wondering what the screaming was all about.

“Mickey! Did she corrupt you too? What did the witch do to you?”, Terrence screamed while holding Amanda tightly in his arms, so tightly she couldn’t breathe and started crying and screaming.  
“Dad, let go of her!”  
“No, I’m not letting the witch have her! Did she possess you too? Can you do it too?”  
“What are you talking about, let go of Mandy! Where is mom- what did you do to her?”, he asked when he saw his mother lying in the corner.

“She is a witch! Get away from her! She did something to Amanda, she isn’t herself anymore! She is possessed by the same demon that holds your mother!”  
“Dad, you’re talking crazy, let go of Mandy, she can’t breathe can’t you see?”  
“That isn’t Mandy anymore, I’ll bring her to the priest, he can save her!”  
“She doesn’t need saving, she needs air to breathe, please let her go! Let her go! You’re killing her!”, Mikhailo started crying and screaming.  
Amanda was gasping for air while crying until no sound came from her anymore. Terrence didn’t notice his daughter stopping her struggle against his hands, he was crying and screaming at his son, demanding an answer if he was one of the vile creatures too.

Morana started to regain her consciousness, she touched her head and felt blood. She slowly stood up and her eyes immediately fell on her little daughter in her husband's arms, blue face, not moving anymore.

“What have you done?”, her deep voice seemed louder than the others’ screaming. Mikhailo and Terrence looked at her. Terrence stepped back from her in fear, pulling his daughter closer so Morana couldn’t get to her, now noticed that Amanda had stopped moving. He looked at her in horror, let go of her put her small body on the table next to him, screaming at her to wake up.

Morana and Mikhailo stared at them paralyzed. Morana slowly stumbled towards them, blood soaked her hair, she put her hand on Amanda’s little chest, trying to heal her but it was too late – “You killed her”, she whispered and looked at Terrence, “You killed my child”

“No. No, you killed her! You evil creature, you took her away from me!”  
Morana looked at him with empty eyes, Terrence stepped back until his back hit the wall, Morana suddenly held a knife in her hand while Mikhailo still screamed at her to not do it, she stuck the knife deeply into Terrence’ body. Terrence fell to the ground, Morana didn’t cry a tear, she took her son’s hand, let all her witch possessions fly into a bag and then fled into the forest with Mikhailo.

In the middle of the forest, she found a glade and let a house grow there for them. She cast a spell around the glade so no-one not magical could find them, using a spell from an estranged great-aunt she had among her things.

Morana taught Mikhailo all her magic, all her spells and potions, they grew trees and flowers, potatoes, carrots, and berries. Most importantly, she taught him about the witch hunts, about the humans who were just out to hurt them for years, how they were so afraid of magic their only answer could be death. They never spoke of Amanda or Terrence again, except once, when they learned that he had survived Morana’s attack and was roaming the forest looking for them.

Morana died ten years later when Mikhailo was 18. He buried her behind his house among her favourite trees and on her headstone wrote in Cyrillic letters _Морана & Аманда_.


	6. Finding the truth instead of a cure

Mikhailo told Ian the story of his parents bit by bit over the week the potion had to sit, and they walked through the forest looking for key ingredients.

Now Ian sat in Mikhailo’s hut while he finished the potion.  
“That’s a lot of stuff going in there”, Ian said.  
“Yeah… well, I’m not really sure what I’m doing, I just tried to find out why which ingredients are used in other healing potions I know. It got a bit much… you don’t have to drink it. I only used a bit of the base, I can make many potions out of this until I’m surer of what I’m doing.”

“Well, how can you be sure whether you’re doing something right or wrong if I don’t drink the potion?”, Ian said, Mick nodded and filled some of it into a cup and gave it to Ian.  
“Well, to my health, right?”, Ian said and then drank it in one go.

Ian put the cup away and waited for something to happen.  
“So… how can we know if it did anything at all? Do I start glowing or something?”  
“If you started glowing, I’m pretty sure it would be a bad sign. It’s gonna have some effect eventually, just wait.”

Mikhailo leaned against the counter in his kitchen, Ian looked at him, “Your parent’s story is sad. I wish your mom would have killed your dad.”  
“I thought I told you not to talk about this.”  
“I’m sorry, but it’s the truth. He’s an asshole. The main reason I’m not out to the people in my town is that he’s a homophobic asshole.”

“Sure”, Mikhailo mumbled and looked at his ingredient list.

“I low-key love your name, by the way. But sometimes it’s so hard and long to say.”  
“Mhmm, that’s why you call me Mick sometimes, ain’t it?”  
“Yeah, Mick… Mickey, you’re so small, it’s really fucking cute.”

Mick looked up at him with raised eyebrows.  
“Ian, do you want to say such things?”  
Ian looked at him for a moment confused, “No.”

“Oh no”  
“Oh no? What do you mean, oh no?”  
“It looks like I accidentally put all the stuff from a truth serum and a courage potion in here. Actually, that shouldn’t do anything! Like usually a potion is very fucking specific, one ounce too much of anything and it wouldn’t work. But it looks like I accidentally created a have-courage-to-spill-your-darkest-secrets-potions.”  
“That needs a shorter name.”

“That’s all you have to say?”  
“Well, I drank this so I’m gonna tell you the truth about anything. That should freak me the fuck out, but I have no fear about anything right now.”  
“Great, don’t worry, it should wear off in a few hours. But until then I can’t let you leave the forest, you’ll tell people about me.”

“I like staying with you.”  
“Okay”, Mikhailo mumbled while scribbling something down into his notebook where he also wrote down the ingredients. Ian came over to him and looked at what he wrote down.

Mikhailo looked up and realized how close he stood to Ian. Ian raised his hand and touched Mikhailo’s cheek.  
“You’re fucking beautiful.”, he whispered.  
Mikhailo smiled, “I would say you’re wrong, but you only say the truth so you must really think that, huh? You got a weird taste in guys.”  
Ian nodded.

“You might want to step back now before you say something you don’t want to say”, Mikhailo said.  
“I’m in love with you”, Ian said before Mick could even finish his sentence.  
Mikhailo smiled up at him, “I know.”  
“You do?”  
“I’m a witch, Ian, I know a lot of things.”  
“So, do you love me, too?”  
“Yes, I love you too.”

Ian leaned in and kissed him passionately.  
“Wait”, Ian said when he leaned back again, “You didn’t put a love spell on me or something, did you?”  
“No. Why would I do that?”  
Ian shrugged, “I don’t know. I want to kiss you again.”  
Mick smiled and kissed him again.


	7. Fast talking, barely sleeping, hypersexuality

They decided Ian should stay at the witch hut with Mikhailo so he could monitor the effects of the potions better. Ian told his siblings he would go to Lip’s college, using a friend’s car to drive once across the country.

Since Ian’s love confession, they spent a lot of their time making out. It took only two days and Ian started to show symptoms of a manic episode. He got up early in the morning and ran around in the woods for an hour, he helped Mick with his garden and was fuzzy and unconcentrated with everything he did, he couldn’t spend more than two minutes without talking about random stuff, except when he and Mickey made out with each other.

Mikhailo kept researching for a cure, especially now that he saw how Ian acted when he had an episode. Mick loved Ian, he loved being around him. But this situation was exhausting, he didn’t try to let Ian know how exhausting he was though, he didn’t want to make him feel even worse about the disorder.

Ian sat at the dinner table, watching Mikhailo cooking up another potion.  
“I thought about what I should do with my future, job-wise you know? I thought I could work with an electrician, learn how to wire stuff. But I also think I could help people, become a nurse or an EMT, right? I would love that. But there isn’t a hospital here, I would have to leave the town, but I don’t want to leave the town because you are here, and I don’t want to leave you. But we don’t know each other for that long, but I want to take a chance. A chance on us, and when I’m not sick anymore we could really build something out here, just the two of us. But when we stay out here together alone, which I would love, just the hut and us, I wouldn’t need a job at all. But my siblings wouldn’t let that happen. What are we gonna do, Mickey? Where is this going to lead?”

Mikhailo filled the potion into a cup and handed to Ian, “I don’t know, but drink this, maybe you’ll find a solution.”  
Ian nodded and drank the blue liquid.  
“How are you feeling?”

“Good”, Ian shrugged.  
“Any different than before?”  
“Not yet. However, I was saying, do we have a plan for the future? Do we need one? I mean we’re together for a few days only, we don’t need to talk about that stuff yet. I was wondering about it though, if I spend more time here, which I think I will, what am I supposed to tell my siblings?”

“For fuck’s sake, please be quiet”, Mikhailo mumbled and leaned down to kiss him. He sat down on Ian and wrapped his legs around the chair. Ian didn’t mind the interruption, but Mikhailo knew this was only the beginning of what could an hour-long monologue, going from jobs over their relationship, future to eventually ending up at the advantages of running in the woods in contrast to going to the gym.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The potion didn’t seem to do a lot, it made Ian talk a bit less. The next morning Mikhailo woke up alone in his bed like the other days too, Ian was out running through the woods like a frightened rabbit.

Mikhailo slowly got out of bed and went to the bathroom, he took a shower and brushed his teeth, when he was finished, he heard the front door.

“Mickey?”  
Mikhailo came out of the bathroom, “Morning, how are you feeling about breakfast?”  
“That would be great”, Ian smiled and walked over to him to kiss him, “Can you be my breakfast though?”

Mikhailo smirked and kissed him again, but he quickly noticed that Ian was a bit more passionate now, he pushed him against the wall and let his hands wander down his body. Ian kissed his neck down and sucked on his pale skin to create a small hickey, “I want to fuck you so badly right now”, he mumbled against his skin.

Mikhailo wasn't entirely sure if Ian was fully aware of the fact that he was still a virgin, given that he had practically no social contacts besides his mother since he was 8 years old.

A virgin with the ability to materialize dildos out of thin air, sure, but a virgin though. And he somehow didn't feel like having his first sex ever with a man in the middle of a manic episode pushed against a wall with dead flowers slightly tickling him.

He put his hands on Ian's shoulders and pushed him away, "Let's have breakfast. You Barely ate anything yesterday and you're working out a lot."

The witch went to the kitchen, Ian followed him and wrapped his arms around him from behind while he started cooking up some eggs. Ian kissed the back of his neck and pushed their bodies together, "You make me so fucking horny, Mickey. I don't know how we even spent all this time without fucking yet"

"You said, Hypersexuality is one of your symptoms, right?"  
Ian let go of him and dramatically flung himself against the counter next to Mikhailo.

"Symptoms! Who fucking cares? I don't want to hear anything about being sick, Mickey, I just want to be free and happy with you and be in love with you. Is that so wrong? Is that a symptom of a sickness?"

"Maybe that's just being in love. But being overdramatic like this and almost taking me against the wall over there?", he shrugged.  
"If you want me to resist you, don't be so irresistible.", he smirked and kissed Mickey's cheek.

Mickey finished their breakfast and they sat down at the table and Mickey didn't listen to Ian's babbling, he was too focused on the plants and the small bottles with strange liquids, petals and hairs on the shelf behind the redhead.

After they ate, Ian put the dishes away, Mickey announced he go outside to tend his garden, but Ian stopped him when he got up from his chair.

He hugged him from behind and kissed his neck, "not yet, Mickey, we didn't end what we started before breakfast"  
"You want to go on another run?"  
Ian chuckled and turned Mikhailo around to kiss him. Mikhailo kissed him back, he ran his hand through Ian's red hair, and again Ian made sure Mikhailo knew how horny he was.

He pushed him against the wooden table, so Mikhailo would sit on it and Ian could stand in between his legs while making out passionately. The witch instinctively wrapped his legs around Ian's hips.

Kissing him felt incredibly good and he was turned on by the man too, but this... it just didn't feel right. He shouldn't sleep with Ian when he was in the middle of a manic episode with little to no control over his actions. And he didn't want his first time to happen on the table any more than against the wall.

When Ian got a little too handsy again, Mikhailo pushed him away, "Ian, calm down"  
"Come on, don't you want it too, Mickey? Don't you want me?"  
"I do, but not now, not here.", Mickey jumped down from the table.  
"When?", Ian asked.

"I will tend my garden now. Then I will try my luck with another potion. I hope you aren't this hypersexual anymore afterwards."


	8. The Rosebush

Mikhailo seemed to be able to just get one symptom at once under control. Ian wasn't obsessed with getting into Mick's pants anymore the next day, but he was full of obsessive ideas that he desperately tried to get under control.

Right now, he was obsessed with wanting to tell his siblings about Mikhailo being a witch. He was convinced if he would just explain the situation to them, they would accept Mikhailo, maybe so would the whole town, maybe he could live among them again and not fear them anymore.

Mikhailo of course knew this was a bad idea. His father was out there looking for him, wanting to kill him more than anything else. even if the townspeople would believe Ian, even if they would accept him - Terry was driven by evil, he would never let it go.

Apart from that it was certain Ian's siblings would notice that Ian was in the middle of a manic episode and would put him into a psych Ward for talking about witches and magic.

Ian usually knew this. He knew it was a bad idea, he knew he couldn't tell anyone, he knew he would endanger Mikhailo. Manic Ian's brain worked differently, he thought there was an option, a hope that Mikhailo simply didn't explore before - granted, he didn't, but only because he knew there was no point.

Ian tried to pull Mikhailo out of his beloved garden. Mikhailo tried to stop him, told him again and again that he couldn't do this, that it would end badly for both of them. But Ian wouldn't listen, even when Mikhailo raised his voice, even when he threatened to use his magic to keep Ian in this garden, Ian didn't stop.

At last, Mikhailo snapped, he was frustrated with Ian and he couldn't keep him in the garden where it was safe with logic. Mikhailo pushed the redhead to the ground.

"Ow, shit, Mick, what are you-", before Ian could finish the sentence he was floating in the air, held by a tree branch once again, "Mickey! Mick let me down!"

Mikhailo let him float down again, he was still in the trees tight grip but now they were eye to eye again.

"Let me go"  
"Only if you promise to not run away. Ian if you tell people that I'm in this forest they will hunt me down. I'm not always inside this barrier. We couldn't be together anymore. Don't you understand? I'm just doing this because I love you."

"Love me?", Ian growled, "If you would really love me, you wouldn't try to change me!"  
Mikhailo took a step back from him.  
"What are you talking about?"  
"All those potions? The magic? Why can't you accept me the way I am? I don't need healing! I'm still me!"

"Ian you begged me for weeks to cure you. It's the only reason you ever came here!"  
"I just want to be accepted! Why does everyone have to treat me differently just because of this fucking disorder?", Ian screamed at him.

"Because you make every fucking flaw of yours about your disorder!", Mikhailo screamed back, "Because it's the only thing you talk about. You are the one who sees this as your biggest problem which is ruining your life! How dare you accuse me of wanting to change you, if living with this thing is so horrible for you that the only reason you ever even spoken to me is to use me to find a cure?"

Ian was silent now. He hung in the tree and looked down at him with tears in his eyes.  
Mick gently touched his cheek, "It's okay, Ian, I'll let you down now, yeah? It's alright", he gently stroked his thumb over Ian's freckles, "It's gonna be okay, freckles."

He let the man down and Ian let himself fall against him, Mikhailo hugged him tightly and comforted him.

Mikhailo kissed his forehead and then led him back to the hut, "Come, I'll show you something."  
Ian looked up at him confused when they stopped in front of the rose Bush Ian had given him when they met for the second time.

Mikhailo sat down in front of it, Ian did the same.  
"After you gave me this, I started liking you. Really, liking you. So... I enchanted it."  
"You put a spell on the rose bush? Why?"

"I didn't have any social interaction except with my mother for ten years, been completely alone since her death. I'm not an expert at picking up social cues or knowing how people feel about me... I enchanted your gift so it would tell me about your feelings for me. It's tied to your heart."

"You monitor my feelings for you? That's cheating."  
Mikhailo shrugged, "You can monitor mine too. You see, every bud, every flower stands for your feelings, for your love for me. If they all bloom, as they do right now, it means you truly love me. If they start to wither, I know you don't love me anymore. If they lose petals it means your feelings are shaken, or you are re-evaluating them or maybe you're just angry with me. A while ago, I cut one of the flowers", he put his hands together and let a rose appear between them, "It works the same as the other ones, but it tells you about my feelings for you. Take it."

Ian looked at the enchanted rose, he bit his lip uncertainly, but then took the flower from Mickey. The flower was fully opened and blooming and... a light, faint glow seemed to come from it.

"Why is yours glowing and mine are not?"   
"Because I've seen you in stages you didn't love yourself. I've seen you manic and sick, and it didn't change anything about my feelings. The more often that happens, the worse you get, the more it will glow."  
"So, if I would see you at your worst, like... I don't know, killing someone, and I would still love you, those Rose's would glow too?"

"Yes. I do hope, you will never see me trying to kill someone though."  
Ian looked up at his face and smiled, "Not even two months ago I still thought you were just a legend and now I swear I never will love another person as much as I love you. Sometimes I'm afraid you might have given me a love potion after all."

"I would never do that", Mikhailo said sincerely and touch his golden freckles on his cheek, "Anyways, there is no potion that can create actual love of the heart. Imitate it with chemicals in the brain - sure, though you would end up in an obsessive state and I wouldn't get you out of this garden if I would send flying monkeys after you. But not real love. But like I said, the Roses are tied to your heart, freckles."

Ian smiled and kissed him. This time it was Mickey who intensified their kiss, they made out passionately while slowly leaning back into the soft grass.

Mickey let his hands wander under Ian's shirt and slowly pushed it up, until he and Ian had to separate so he could take off his shirt.

"Wait, what are you doing", Ian whispered.  
"I'm a 21-year-old virgin with a super-hot boyfriend. I'm intending to change at least one of these things.", Mickey smirked.

"Are you sure you want this?", Ian asked while pushing his hand under Mickeys shirt to touch his cool porcelain skin.  
"Yes, really fucking sure, freckles. ...We don't have to if you don't want to though."

"You have no idea how badly I want to fuck you Mick", he said and Mickey laughed lightly, "But yesterday you didn't."  
"Yesterday you dry-humped by leg like a wild dog and wanted to fuck me on the kitchen table. You seem calmer now. And you are still very fucking hot."

Ian smiled and kissed him again, "Okay, really out here in the grass though?"  
Mikhailo smirked and out of nowhere a blanket appeared underneath them.  
"And we need at least lube"  
Mikhailo let a bottle of lube appear next to him and Ian chuckled.  
"Perks of dating a witch", he whispered and pulled Mickeys shirt off his body.

It was the first time Ian saw his boyfriend without his shirt, he never realised before that the witch was quite muscular under the old, baggy clothes. He noticed small marks on his chest that looked as if someone had tried burning words or signs into his skin.

Ian kissed Mickey's neck, his collar bone and let his lips softly touch the scar.


	9. The Book

A few days later Mikhailo and Ian were wandering through the forest. They were looking for some new ingredients while it was also Mikhailo's weekly patrol through the woods, he made sure everything was okay, the animals were well, no one was hunting or hurting the forest his family took care of for the last generations. 

Ian had a pretty bad sunburn on his back since they thought it was a great idea to fuck in the middle of Mickey's garden in the early summer sun. Some special mushrooms were needed so the burns could be treated properly, they grew in the east of the forest. 

"From now on, we're only having garden-sex in winter", Ian said for the tenth time today. 

Mikhailo smiled at him and kissed him, "Every day you said that we had more garden sex though"  
"I don't really trust your bed, it seems to almost break when the two of us are only making out in it."  
"It wouldn't break, freckles, this whole witch boyfriend thing has a few more perks than endless lube supply." 

Ian smirked and ran his hand through Mickey's hair. 

He was aware that Ian was still in his manic episodes, though he had moments he seemed clear, he could see it in Ian's eyes. He wasn't fully here and his mind was running wild behind his lips. But Mikhailo seemed to get closer to a cure, he was responsible for these clear-appearing moments. He was close to something- or maybe he just hoped he was. 

Ian leaned down to kiss Mickey, when he suddenly gasped excitedly, "There they are."  
Ian looked to where he was pointing and saw some small, brown mushrooms growing on a tree.  
"They look like normal mushrooms to me. We've passed them like ten times already."  
Mikhailo smiled and shook his head, he took Ian's hand and walked to the mushrooms. 

"Look", he said and let a small silver light ball appear in his hand, "Under moonshine they turn silver."  
He held the light closer to the mushrooms and they indeed appeared silver. Mikhailo closed his hand and the light disappeared, he quickly harvested the mushrooms. 

"Okay, was that all?"  
"Yeah, last one on the list. Let's go back, I'll heal that nasty sun-burn.", he smiled and kissed his boyfriend. They didn't come far, only a few minutes later, they heard the sound of a motorcycle. 

"Who is driving through the forest with a motorcycle?", Ian asked confused.  
"My dad", Mikhailo whispered with wide eyes, "Be quiet!" 

Mikhailo stepped closer to him and pressed his hand on Ian's mouth, when a tree branch wrapped itself around the two of them and sat them down on a tree, so Terry wouldn't see them. 

"I'm still not a fan of the tree-flying thing", Ian whispered as soon as Mikhailo took away his hand.  
"Shht!" Terry appeared underneath them on his motorcycle, he stopped the machine and looked around. 

"Mickey! I know you're here! I can smell your magic", he growled, "You can't hide from me. Come here, face me like a man!" 

"You know, we should be kissing right now", Ian whispered, "Ian and Mickey sitting in a tree – K I SS I N G"  
"Ian, shut the fuck up", Mikhailo demanded in a low voice, "Do you want him to find us?" 

Terry looked up, searching the trees with his eyes. Mikhailo knew he wouldn't need long to spot them.  
"Ian, do you trust me?"  
"Yeah... even though I'm slightly concerned by that question."  
"I will try to teleport us."  
"Okay."  
"I'm not very good at it."  
"Oh boy"  
"And my magic is less strong without my wand."  
"Which you left at home." 

"I will teleport us as far as I can, which isn't very far, and then I want you to run back to the hut as fast as you can, okay? Don't look back, just run."  
"What? What about you?"  
"I'll be right behind you if I can. If not I'll stop Terry."  
"Alone?"  
"I'll be fine. What is he supposed to do to me, huh?"  
Ian looked from the man to his boyfriend, "We're both seeing the gun on his motorcycle, right?" 

Mikhailo gave him an encouraging smile, "I'll be fine. I promise. Now, hold on to me, don't let go. When I say run, you run."  
Ian nodded, at that moment Terry spotted them. 

"There you are you little faggot!", he screamed up at them. 

Mikhailo let out a deep breath and wrapped his arms around Ian, in the blink of an eye, they were standing on the ground again, around five meters away from Terry.  
"Run", Mikhailo said and both started running, he knew Terry saw them and was behind them he heard a gun shot and saw the bullet landing in the tree he just passed. 

He stopped running and turned around to his father. The man tried to get on his motorcycle to chase after them, Mikhailo stretched his hand out towards the motorcycle and a tree branch stormed down and wrapped itself around the motorcycle, squishing it. 

Terry had horror in his eyes, he took his gun and walked towards Mikhailo.  
"You will not kill me, demon! You controlled my wife, you took my children! I will take your life now!"  
"Took your children?", he yelled back at him, "You killed your own daughter!"  
"No! She wasn't my daughter anymore! The dark witch infected her already! She was already lost, like your mother, like you!" 

Terry pointed his gun at him and shot. At the last moment, Mikhailo raised both his hands and stopped the bullet just inches before his head, then he sent it back to his father with the same force he shot it at him. The bullet hit Terry in the arm he used to hold his gun, which he dropped instantly. 

Terry groaned in pain and held his arm.  
"You monster!"  
"I'm the monster? You killed my sister! You killed a six year old child! How dare you calling me a monster?"  
"You're a witch!"  
"Yes. And you're a monster", he said and with a swift movement of his hand hurled his father's body against the next tree, so he hit his head, Terry fell to the ground unconsciously, "Sleep well, pops." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Ian Sat on the little bench in front of the witch hut. His legs were shaking, he was still trying to catch his breath, nervously waiting for his boyfriend to return. 

He had one hand on the side of the hut, gently stroking over the wood, "He'll be okay, right house? A witch against bullets, he will be fine." 

Ian started pacing around the garden, eventually he asked the house to let him inside. He kept Mickey's Rose in a little glass on the bedside table at his side of the bed. He took the glass put it in the middle of the table in the kitchen, sat down and stared at it. As long as the Rose was okay, Mickey was too. 

Ian's legs were shaking. A thousand horrible scenarios rushed through his head. After what felt like an eternity, during which Ian has almost gone crazy, the door finally opened again and Mikhailo slowly walked in. Ian sighed loudly in relief, stood up and hugged and kiss him.

"I was so worried, are you okay?"  
Mikhailo nodded, "I'm fine. Just exhausted.", he muttered and put his mushroom harvest on the table.  
"Where is your dad?"  
"Asleep. He'll be fine and walk away.... eventually."  
"I would have preferred it if you killed him."  
"Killing a person with magic? It's hard. I would have passed out on the spot. Undoable without my wand. Now... let me go to sleep... I need a nap." 

"A nap I thought you wanted to heal my sunburn. And then do another potion. So I can get rid of this whole thing and-"  
"Ian, come on, I know you're still kinda manic, but I really need a nap.", he mumbled and went to the bed. 

"Oh, sure, I'll be quiet. I can be quiet. Growing up finding a quiet place at home was nearly impossible, my siblings were always crying or screaming - well, they were babies, that's all they do I guess. Babies are really fuckibg annoying sometimes. I mean, they're cute, sure, but holy shit they literally do nothing else than eating, sleeping and pooping. They just rely on their cuteness to get by. Imagine if babies would have been born ugly, I bet people would have just gotten annoyed with them a few millennia ago and we would have gone extinct. They also cost a shit ton of money, and all the things that you have to think about. Can you imagine what it must have been like to raise a baby in, like, tshe stoneage? No strollers, no formula, no diapers! I want one though, I think, one day. When I don't have this disorder anymore it'll be easier to adopt one, don't you think?" 

Mikhailo sat on his bed and had his eyes closed, he just wanted Ian to shut up for five goddamn minutes!  
He had to have something here that would keep the ginger occupied for a while, right? He should really get some internet into this hut for him. 

"You know", Mikhailo said and interrupted Ian finally, "I have something for you. A gift."  
"A gift?", Ian asked excitedly.  
He slowly walked to a bookshelf and pulled out an old, thick leather-bound book. The title was written in golden runes Ian couldn't read. 

"What is it?"  
"A book about witches. It was written from us for your kind. Well, in case witches would be in relationships of any kind with humans. It is supposed to educate you on everything about us. Spells, curses, potions, blood lines, rituals, witch pregnancies, our culture, that using magic wears you out, even the difference between kinds of magic users. So you never call me a wizard again." 

Ian took the book from him and ran his fingers over the title.  
"But it's written in runes."  
"It's a book about witches and magic, Ian. Don't you think we came up with a translation spell at some point? You'll be able to read it. But please, read it quietly, I'll go to sleep." 

Ian nodded and opened the book, the words were written in tunic letters too, the same Mikhailo had tattooed on his knuckles, which weren't old European or celtic runes like Ian had thought initially, but seemed to come from some kind of original witch language that Ian had never asked about. 

Ian looked at the words and really, they started shifting before his eyes and turned into english words. 

Ian smiled and went to the bed as well, sat down next to Mikahilo, who was dozing off already, and started reading.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want you to imagine Mickey saying "Sleep well, pops" like Sansa Stark said it to Ramsay Bolton in Game of thrones before the Battle of The Bastards


	10. The crazy great aunt

_On Witches: Wandless magic  
Witches channel their magic through their wands. They come in all shapes and sizes (read more under "Wands: Tools and Weapons). But without the wand the witch is not completely powerless. They are able to perform small amounts of Magic. Channeling the magic without a wand is harder and costs more energy. All of the witch's spells and skills are slightly weekend without a wand. Some Spells require the use of one and others don't require a wand specifically, but 99 percent of witches are not able to perform these spells without wands, since the magic that they would have to channel through their body would be so powerful they could pass out, die or spontaneously combust._

Ian was soaking up every word from the book he had from Mikhailo. He concluded after the first few chapters, that his boyfriend was a way more powerful witch than he led on. 

Which was probably because, if Ian interpreted Mikhailos stories about his great great grandmother right, he came from a very old and powerful witch family that was something like royalty in something called the "five ancient circles" but the history chapters in the book were very long and dense, so Ian wasn't completely sure about what those circles were actually all about. 

The book even had a section teaching the witch's runic alphabet, he tried to find out what Mikhailo had written on his knuckles, which were tattooed with the same letters, but apparently also the witch language, which was so ancient, Mikhailo was very sure that no one alive still spoke it, it just existed in books. A bit like Latin. 

It's been several weeks since Ian started staying with Mikahilo so he could find a cure to his disorder.

A week ago he had called his siblings at home the tell them he had changed mind about visiting Lip because he met someone interesting along the way and now he would come back home which would take a while again. As it turned out Ian had pretty good phone reception in the forest, just not by the hut, because it lay under the protection spell which hid them from people stumbling upon the house every now and then. This spell apparently blocked internet and phone reception. 

Ian was running around the hut, there was no door between the bedroom and the rest of the hut, so Mikhailo was woken up early in the morning by Ian's noise. He quickly got dressed and washed up, he went to the kitchen to find a huge chaos. Apparently, Ian tried to clean the hut but instead seemed to to make everything worse. 

"What are you doing?"  
"Cleaning. Good morning Mick."  
"Cleaning? It looks worse than before."  
"Well, yeah, for now, I needed to make way to clean properly. Did I wake you up?"  
"Of course you woke me up, you're making enough noise for ten redheads." 

Ian grinned at him, "You're grumpy this morning, How about a nice cup of tea."  
"I need something stronger than tea for this shit. Ian sit down, I'll get rid of all this mess." 

"No, I'll clean up. Sit down, relax. It will be fine.", he said and continued to dance around the rooms, he got dangerously close to the shelf with ingredients, magical items and potions. 

"Ian, watch out, don't get too close to that stuff, you're gonna spill something."  
"Don't worry, I'm careful. But look, that shelf really needs dusting, I'm just gonna put all of this stuff on the table-"  
"No! Don't touch it!", Mikhailo shouted but it was almost like Ian didn't even care. 

"Don't worry, I'll be careful", Ian reassured him, turned around with a wide gesture and, accidentally, flung the bottom row of little bottles from the shelf so they landed on the ground and some broke. Colourful liquids oozed out of them, except one. Out of a dark bottle, which was secured with ropes all around it, white smoke started floating right in front of Ian. 

The smoke started to turn into the shape of a man's face... it grinned diabolically and then suddenly morphed into Ian's own face. 

Mikhailo grabbed his wand pointed it at the smoke, "Let him alone!", he yelled at the smoke face and tried to overpower it, the face grinned again and then shot down towards Ian, Ian stood there like paralyzed, he couldn't even scream. 

Right before his face, the smoke stopped again, and was suddenly hurled back towards Mikhailo, who got a hold of the magic with his wand. The smoke let out a diabolic scream and Mikhailo almost dropped the wand when he wanted to cover his ears. 

He quickly regained control and forced the smoke into a new glass, though it was just smoke, it seemed to cost him an immense amount of energy. 

He quickly sealed the new glass and panted. He then let ropes appear around it, so it was extra sealed. Then he turned to Ian. 

"You absolute fucking idiot! Look at all the fucking mess you made! This is magic! An accident could kill you! Why can't you just fucking look what you're doing without breaking everything around you?", he yelled at him and forced him to sit down on a chair, "Stay there, if you move one fucking inch I swear, I'll put you into a glass too!" 

Ian sat on the chair, looking at his boyfriend with wide eyes, he had never seen him this angry... it was scary. Ian swallowed hard and tried to be as small and quiet as possible. 

Mikhailo cleaned up the potions rests and let the shards disappear. He could save some of the bottles, but the green-blue potion which treated internal wounds, was lost. 

He sat on his knees on the ground and looked through the shards to find the labels of the lost potions, so he knew what he had to replace. 

One of the labels, which came from the bottle the smoke had escaped from, said "Byron Powell's craziness" 

Mikahilo looked at the label confused and then to the smoke. One of his ancestors had been able to capture someone's craziness? He cleaned the rest of the shards up and looked through his witch books. 

According to the date and the fact that the label was written in english, it must have belonged to the american or British sides of his family, which were mainly the Male witches his ancestors had married over time. His great aunt, whose spell protected this hut, was a little nuts, but she was one of the most powerful witches on his grandfather's side. 

As far as Mikhailo knew, his grandparents met in Ukraine, he was an american witch so they went back to america after Morana was born. Here the union quickly broke apart again, because the man's crazy genius sister couldn't stand his brother's new wife and ended up accidentally combusting in a temper tantrum. Mikhailo's grandmother reacted to the following divorce by stealing all of the sister's research and coming to the little town he and Ian were born in. 

"Ian, this could be the break through I was hoping for! Apparently my great aunt was able to suck a man's craziness right out of him. Maybe... if I find her research in this book, and can alter her spell or potion... maybe I can just pull the disorder out of you", Mikhailo said excitedly while going through the old pages of the witch's journal. 

The aunt had not only been crazy but also paranoid, she wrote everything in code. His grandmother had spent years trying to figure it out. But it lay under a special protection spell against her, but Morana, who the aunt had adored when she was a baby, could read it. When they came here to this hut, she used her protection spell and then wrote a translation guide for Mikahilo, he just had to find it. 

"Ian? Are you listening? This is good news. This could finally get rid of your disorder, just like you wanted it.", he said and turned around to Ian, who sat on his chair and looked sadly to the ground. Mikhailo sighed and kneeled down in front of him, he took his hands in his. 

"Ian, everything's alright. I shouldn't have screamed around you but you could have hurt yourself. Stop pouting, this could really work", he kissed his hands and stood up to kiss his forehead too, "I tell you what, we'll have a nice breakfast now, then I'll take care of my garden, you can help me if you want, and then I'll try to find out what my crazy aunt did to Byron Powell. You can read the book I gave you." 

Mikahilo went to the stove and let ingredients appear, "How are you feeling about pancakes?"  
"Yeah, sure", Ian mumbled.  
Mikhailo smiled and started cooking. 

After breakfast Ian said he was tired, he lay down in Mickey's bed with the book about witches and stayed there for the whole day, he wasn't even in the mood for dinner later. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


	11. The case of Byron Powell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few numbers for orientation  
> Mikhailo is 21, was born in 1999  
> Ian is 19  
> Morana was born in 1974  
> Mikhailo's grandmother came to america in 1974 and was born 1948  
> The case of Byron Powell took place 1971-1972

The next morning Ian didn't want to come out of bed, he also didn't cuddle him at night how he usually did it. He wasn't in the mood for breakfast either, he just yelled at Mikhailo to leave him alone at some point. 

This was his depressed episode now. 

Mickey did his best to take care of Ian even though Ian fought every attempt from Mickey's side to coax him into eating something or drinking something or go to the bathroom. At the end of the day he made it to feed Ian a piece of pancake and to make him drink water through a straw. But then Ian just turned away from him again and told him to leave him alone. 

It went like this for a week.  
During the day Mikhailo tended his garden, worried, tried to encode his great-aunt's book, worried, tried to make Ian eat or drink and then worried some more. 

The aunt, whose name Mikhailo found out to be Wynona, was more than just a little crazy.  
Apparently he had all kinds of crazy theories throughout her life and while trying to craft new spells and potions accidentally killed a bunch of people. 

But then Mikhailo finally got to the case of Byron Powell. 

_I met Byron a year ago in Memphis and helped him with his sister's flu. It was nothing really, just a flick of the wrist. But now he came to me with a bigger request. He had fancied some craziness in himself. Like he was possessed by a demon - an impossibility as I told him. He told me he already underwent an exorcism at his church, the fool, but it didn't help. He saw people that others didn't see. He fancied they were ghosts. Now that would have been interesting. A simple man who can see ghosts. I would have enjoyed that. But the truth seemed to be much less exciting. I think it's a mere psychosis. He said he sometimes lost control over himself, saw all kinds of people and was sure his sister wasn't his sister anymore. He was a very interesting young man and the thought of him being able to see ghosts fascinated me. I decided to help him and while thinking about a solution I had sex with him all over my apartment in Chicago. This is important, because while sucking on his cock in semi public in the woods, I had an epiphany - It would be good if I could suck the craziness right out of him, the way I suck out his seemen._

Mikahilo had to put down the book for a moment. His great aunt really didn't leave out any detail about her sexlife. The worst thing - she seemed to get most of her ideas during sex and orgies. 

_I knew I wouldn't find a potion or spell the way I needed it, I never did. I had to craft one myself. I tried multiple potions but they all failed. Byron seemed to get worse, so I had to restrain him at some point (- which excited him more than when I rubbed his dick between my tits for some reason.) Now I was dealing with a crazy and very horny Byron. I eventually realised I didn't need a potion. I needed a spell. Crafting my own spell is harder than crafting a potion. So far it almost never went well. But then again, neither did getting fucked in the ass the first ten times, but now with Byron it finally felt good._

Mikhailo sighed deeply, "This was better when it was encoded.", he mumbled to himself. He decided to skip his great aunts descriptions of her sexlife and how she and Byron went to an orgy with other witches so they could talk about crafting a new spell. 

He needed to check in the book he gave Ian, if American witches were generally this obsessed with sex. His family, which originated from the ancient slavic circle, preferred living secluded in the forest talking to animals about their problems instead of yelling their theories while getting fucked. 

By the end of her recollections about Byron powell she explained how she mastered the art of forging new Spells and how she managed to suck the psychosis out of Byron and banished it into a box which always had to be locked and secured. 

_Everything was well. Byron was himself again, I sent him to a psychologist to make sure he wasn't crazy anymore. He was indeed healed, I let the psychologist forget about his whole case. Byron stayed with me for another week. Then one morning I woke up and he was gone. He left a note saying, now that he wasn't crazy anymore, he couldn't come up with a reason to stay with me anymore. I tracked him down, back to Memphis and confronted him, he had told me he loved me so many times! When I confronted him it turned out he already had a fiancee at home this entire time. He said, he only was with me because he was crazy, now that he wasn't anymore, he didn't feel love for me anymore.  
"Wynona only crazy people could ever love you, because you're too crazy yourself."  
I restrained him on a chair, now he wasn't aroused by that anymore. I waited for his fiancee to come home and I turned her into a bug and I squished her with my boot. He cried like a baby so I set his house on fire and went back home. _

Mikhailo felt sorry for his great-aunt - she did everything for that man and he just left her and lied to her?  
He looked to his bed where Ian lay, awake but not moving... he would never do this, right? .... when he managed to heal Ian, he wouldn't just get up and leave... he loved him. He genuinely loved him - the Rose Bush said so. 

Mikhailo got up and went outside to look at the Roses, they were still blooming as much as they did yesterday.  
If he healed Ian... if he took a way his disorder... would the roses die? Did he only love him because of the disorder? 

No that couldn't be. The bush was tied to Ian's heart. And then there was the protection spell around his hut. Ian had no idea, but the spell came from his great aunt as well and though Wynona was crazy and nymphomaniac, she believed in true love. The storybook, fairytale kind of love. The spell was designed to let potential lovers find her, after she was on the run from the police (probably for killing Byron, Mikhailo concluded.) 

Now, Mikahilo had all the information he needed, he knew how to cast the spell, he just needed to alter it so it fit Ian's disorder, otherwise he would only take the psychosis or the mania from him, but everything needed to be gone. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After a week of caring for Ian, Mikhailo finished his spell, he sat next to the bed and looked at Ian, who stared into nothingness in front of him. 

"Freckles", he whispered, "Listen, I have this spell ready. It may finally be able to do heal you"  
Ian barely even reacted, his eyes twitched. 

"But I need you to work with me, freckles. This only works if you want it. You need to hold this", Mikhailo showed him a wooden box, "And when I get the sickness out of you and in there, you need to close the box. Do you understand? Otherwise it will get out and latch to the next best person - me. Can you do this?" 

Ian looked at him with empty eyes but didn't say anything.  
"Freckles, sit up, please. This will all be over soon." 

Mikhailo helped Ian to sit up, he leaned against the headboard, he looked exhausted from this action alone.  
Mikahilo put the box into his hands, "Open it. When it's all inside you need to close it again, okay?" 

Ian slowly opened the box and looked at Mikhailo, the witch smiled at him, stood up and took his wand. 

He channelled his magic through his wand and spoke the spell he had crafted from Wynonas spell. He pointed the wand at Ian's head and could feel the magic getting the grip on something in his head, so he pulled it out. 

Dark smoke started emerging from Ian's red hair, then red smoke, and blue and white and green smoke forming a cloud of many faces, all belonging to Ian and his moods. 

The cloud was a strong force and tried to get back into Ian's head, until Mickey finally pulled all of it out of him. Some of the faces started to mumble, one started to cry, others started to scream.  
They were trying to get a hold on someone new now. The cloud started to fly into Mikhailos direction, the witch pushed it back with his magic and forced it into the box Ian was holding. When the last bit of smoke was trapped inside of it, Ian quickly closed the lid and held it shut with his hands, he was shaking. 

Mikhailo took deep breaths, he panted and went back to the bed to let himself fall on the mattress. Ian held the box out to him and he fastened ropes around it, so it wouldn't jump open again. 

He took the box and slowly stood up again, the spell wore him out, he stumbled across the living room to the shelf, which he had turned into a cabinet with locked doors since Ian had shattered some of his potions, and locked the box into it. 

Ian watched him from the bed. Mikhailo went back to him and lay down on the bed.  
"Are you okay?", he whispered.  
Ian nodded, "I think so... but I'm tired"  
Mikhailo closed his eyes and sighed, Ian lay down next to him and wrapped his arms around him, he pulled the blanket over both of them and fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This byron has nothing to do with the character Byron from s10, you are, however, free to imagine him to look like him.


	12. About the protection spell

They both fell into a long and deep sleep, Mickey was the first one to wake up, it was around noon the next day. He stroked over Ian's freckled face and quietly got out of bed. He took a warm shower and got dressed, when he went to the kitchen, his eyes fell on his great aunts book. 

He remembered how Byron Powell after being healed couldn't love her anymore, because he needed to be crazy to love a witch. 

He looked back to the bed, Ian was now cuddling Mickey's pillow.  
He swallowed hard, took the book and went outside to the enchanted roses. 

They were still blooming as they were before. A bit more even. Mickey could only hope, this wouldn't change after Ian woke up. He sat down in the grass in the middle of the garden and opened the book. He meant to read up something about the protection spell that was hiding his hut for ages already, now he finally got the chance. 

_18\. 05. 1972  
The police are looking for me for Byron's "murder", neighbours had pieced a picture of me together that they are printing in every newspaper so I went into hiding. I gave up my apartment and refuged to the woods. Hiding a house from the world works better in a place where nobody suspects a house. I put cloaking and protection spells over my house, but even my brother had trouble finding me this way and I became lonely soon.  
I forged a new spell.  
It cloaks my home from unwanted people. Other witches can find it without a problem now and I'm protected from the humans trying to track me down. _

_29.09. 1973  
I was lonely and bored out here alone. Honestly, I miss human contact. I miss love. The witches are good for small affairs, for sex and all that. But I yearn for a human heart. For a real love. I feel that I'm destined to be with a human rather than with a witch. I'm not sure yet if man or woman. I will know when I met them. But I can't leave my new home without risking to be caught by the police so I had to alter my spell.  
I read a lot about the ancient circle's belief of soulmates. Every witch has a soulmate - be that of human or witch kind. Their love makes our magic stronger, our hearts whole, heals our spirits. They are the only people who can make us truly happy. I guess, this has been forgotten by the modern witches. But to the times of the ancient circles they used special spells to find our if a loved one was their soulmate and if not they would drop them immediately and look for their soulmate, since they were only allowed to be married to them (in order to strengthen the circle I'm sure, those witches were all about power)  
But I believe the old stories about the soulmates are true. And if they are, I just need that one person, that one human's heart to love me and I could be forever happy.  
I studied the old soulmate Spells and I blended them with my cloaking spell. Now if my soulmate comes to these woods, they will find me. They will be able to see past the barrier, past the spell. They will come to me automatically, be drawn to me. According to the old legends, the rest should happen on it's own. They shouldn't be able to stay away for long afterwards, our hearts need to be together and would try everything to find each other. _

Soulmate?  
His great aunt really was crazy. Until now Mikhailo thought, Ian was able to find him because he was a potential lover... but a whole ass soulmate? They were just legends from the five ancient circles, this wasn't how the world worked anymore.  
But Ian did find him... and since their first meeting all Mikhailo ever wanted was to see him again, be by his side all the times. 

The door to the house opened and pulled Mickey out of his thoughts.  
Ian stood in the door, he looked like he just got out of bed. 

"There you are", Ian said and smiled.  
"Morning. Why don't you take a shower and then join me for breakfast out here?", Mickey said and closed the book. Ian smiled and nodded and disappeared inside again. 

Ian needed about ten minutes to come back out, Mickey conjured up a blanket and some breakfast. Ian smiled and kissed him when he sat down. 

"What are you doing out here anyways? I would have liked waking up with you."  
Mickey smiled and shrugged, "I wanted to enjoy the sun and read something about my great aunts spell." 

Ian looked at the book next to his boyfriend, "You used her spell on me, right?"  
"An altered version of it, yeah. How are you feeling? Any difference?" 

Ian nodded, "Yes", he smiled at him, "I feel so much clearer. Like before I had my first episode. I think you did it.", he took his hand, "Thank you, Mickey. I love you so much.", he leaned over to him and kissed him.

Mikahilo smiled back at him, "I love you too. I hope it worked."  
"I'm sorry I was so difficult."  
"It's alright, it's not your fault. But now, maybe we can leave that behind and be together without me having to stop you from running away with my trees. 

Ian smirked, "So you will let me go from time to time?"  
"You're not a prisoner, Ian, I just had to stop you because you were about to tell everyone about me."  
"I know.", Ian said and looked up at the sky to let the sun reys hit his face. 

They stayed out in the garden and ate breakfast. Then Ian lay down in the sun and Mickey took care of his garden. 

In the evening they sat on the couch together, Ian was reading in his Witch handbook.  
"And? Anything interesting in there?"  
"I'm trying to understand the old witch runic alphabet.", he mumbeld.  
"Why?", Mickey chuckled, "Not even I can read that old stuff. It's super complicated."  
"But you got them tattooed on your knuckles." 

Mickey smiled, "You could just ask me what they mean.", he said and showed him his knuckles, "It says 'King of the third ancient circle' I was like 14 or 15 when I inked that stuff into my skin, my mom just told me something about the history regarding the ancient circles and I got angry."  
"Why?" 

"When people think about witches, they think about women most of the time, that is because we are a very matriarchal society. And like for human royalty only the Male successors counted and only the sons could be kings, only women could lead the ancient circles. They were believed to be generally stronger and better at leading and all that stuff. Today nobody cares about the ancient circles anymore, I don't even think they still exist, but if they do I would have a right to the throne of the third circle, which was the slavic circle. But they would rather take some distant female cousin than me." 

"So I'm not only dating a witch, I'm dating a witch prince."  
"A witch prince whose throne and circle doesn't exist for a good 300 years anymore, but yeah basically." 

Ian smiled at him, he took his hand, "I'm gonna leave tomorrow."  
"What? To where?"  
"Home to my siblings. Not forever, but they are going crazy because I'm gone for weeks while barely interacting with them. I just need to show my face for a while and then I come back and say I visit my boyfriend in the city and stay with him for a few weeks. Okay?" 

Mickey nodded and exhaled relieved.  
"Are you okay?"  
"Yeah, sorry. It's just my great aunt, the one with the spell, after she healed Byron Powell, he left her. He couldn't remember why he would love her anymore when he wasn't crazy anymore." 

"I wouldn't leave you forever. And I do still remember that and why I love you. And you know I do, because you can always look at those roses outside. and I'll take your rose with me so I can see that you still love me too. But I'll leave this book here, if they see me with a witch book they will still think I'm fucking nuts."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Side fact that you may not care about:  
> It's 3rd of October, Day of German Unity, in fact, we "celebrate" 30 years of german unity today.


	13. Don't teach a Raven how to talk, or you will understand him

The next day around noon Ian left Mickey's hut and went home to his siblings. 

He stayed away for 2 months. 

No visit, no word or sign... nothing. 

If it wasn't for the rose bush which was still blooming, Mickey would have freaked out by now. But also with the roses he started to think... what if Ian left him after all? What if he met someone new? Maybe he still loved him and yet still thought it was better to stay away from him? 

He had eventually sent a raven, he had enchanted and befriended years ago, to Ian's town to look for him, but he came back saying he couldn't see Ian anywhere. 

Mickey was currently harvesting the last bit of his potatoes, when the Raven landed beside him. 

"Do you come to help me?", Mickey asked.  
"Do I look like I want to get as dirty as you?"  
"Then what do you want? Your food lies over there, let my potatoes alone."  
"I saw someone running through the woods"  
"Who? My dad again?"  
"No, the young redhead you sent me to search for." 

Mickey looked at him, "Ian is on his way here?"  
"I would say so, he seems upset, is holding a flower." 

Mickey jumped up and quickly put a cleaning spell over himself. He ran his hand through his hair and pulled his clothes straight, "How do I look?"  
"Like a scarecrow, but the straw is in your head not your body."  
"Oh shut up", he growled.  
"You should have seen yourself, quick quick the holy carrot is coming, let's get all cleaned up and pretty" 

The raven started laughing, Mickey roled his eyes, "I should have never given you the ability to speak"  
"Why not? I would still make fun of you, you just wouldn't know." 

The witch shook his head and walked away from the raven towards the edge of the glade where Ian usually arrived. 

Before he reached it, Ian appeared between the trees already and ran towards him. He really looked upset and he held the rose in his hand, it was enchanted so it survived Ian's run through the woods, but Mickey could see that it wasn't glowing anymore and lost a few petals. 

Before Mickey could even react, Ian reached him and let himself fall against him and hugged him. 

Mickey smiled and hugged him back.  
"You're back", he whispered, "You were gone for so long"  
"I'm sorry", Ian answered, his voice shook lightly and he panted heavily. Mickey pulled away from the hug, took Ian's hand and went back to the middle of the garden where they could sit down in the grass, so Ian could calm down. 

"Where were you all this time?"  
"I told my siblings I wasn't bipolar anymore and threw the pills away so they put me into the psych ward again. They kept me there for weeks trying to confirm the bipolar diagnosis, but they couldn't find anything, no symptoms, nothing. They eventually had to admit that the initial diagnosis was wrong and let me go. I had a huge fight with my siblings and... and I went to my room, I wanted to take my stuff and come here, but then I saw the rose and it was all... dull. It... it didn't glow anymore and petals were faling down ... I thought you stopped loving me because I was gone for so long." 

Mickey looked over to the rose bush which as still in full bloom.  
He was so concerned about Ian's feelings for him, that he forgot that he could monitor his feelings the same way. And everytime Mickey doubted Ian, when he lost himself in scenarios of Ian leaving him forever for someone else, when he got angry at Ian for disappearing - the rose showed that. But he didn't love him less. 

"I don't love you any less than I did before, Ian, I promise."  
"Then what happened to my rose?"  
"I admit... when you were gone for so long without a sign I... I doubted you would ever come back sometimes. I doubted your love for me and that made me angry at you... that's why the petals fell. I'm so sorry, I didn't know you were locked away." 

Ian wrapped his arms around him again and kissed him.  
"I missed you so much"  
"I missed you too." 

Ian looked him in the eyes and smiled sadly, "I need you to do something."  
"What?"  
"I need you to get a bit of phone reception and internet to this glade. I need to contact my siblings every once in a while and if you would have had a phone, I could have called you before they put me into the hospital." 

"Ian..."  
"I know you're not a big fan of the modern technology and that stuff but... please. I want to be here with you, but I need a bit of that technology."  
"It's not like I don't like technology. I could get reception and internet here, but I would have to weaken the protection spell." 

"Weaken? How far?"  
"Well, right now it works so you can find it and witches can find it. If a human would walk further than a tree behind which the spell starts, he would just be... well transported to the other side of the spell. Even if people stumble upon this place they couldn't see or reach it. If someone would follow you, it would be like you disappeared right in front of them. They could never follow you into my garden. If I weaken the spell, they could follow you. Humans still couldn't randomly find this place, but if they walk right behind you and you enter the area of the spell, they could see it too." 

"Then I'll be extra careful. I make sure no one follows me when I come visit you. Please just do this... and then get a phone. I will even explain how to use a smartphone to you."  
Mickey rolled his eyes, "I left civilisation in 2007 not 1907. I know how a cell phone works."  
"I'll remind you on that when I show you a modern smartphone. So will you do the thing now with the protection spell?"  
Mickey sighed and nodded, "Okay. But you need to be careful."  
Ian nodded and kissed him


	14. Losing Control

1 1/2 years later 

Ian moved in with Mickey months ago. He spent his days helping Mickey with his garden, wandering through the woods to collect mushrooms and plants, reading in the witch handbook and learning to cook with the harvest. In the evening they often sat together and streamed a movie over Ian's phone which Mickey casted on an invisible wall in the garden so they could watch it together outside. 

But really most of the time, when they had nothing else to do, they were having sex wherever they could in the garden or the house.

Ian has truly never been happier. 

But lately he started to wonder... was this really how he wanted to spend the rest of his life? 

It wasn't the lack of a TV or playstation.  
But it was this little farm life. Ian had never pictured himself in this kind of life. 

He barely ever saw his family or any other person than Mickey. He loved Mickey, sure, but he wasn't made for this hermit life. 

He wanted contact to other people, he wanted to have a job and a husband and a family. Mickey could give him one of these things right now - the partnership which could become a marriage one day. But was that enough? 

The rich garden, the soft green grass which was never itchy, the perfect little home - it all seemed like heaven to him from the start. It was a heaven Mickey and his mother had created out here. But he was afraid... it wasn't his heaven. 

He was thinking about this for a while now. Unfortunately the rose bush showed this. It wasn't like he loved Mickey any less than before. He wanted to have a future with him. He wanted him to be the one he would have a home and a family with. He just wasn't sure how he should start this conversation. 

In the last few weeks Mickey had been weird. He was even less patient than usual, he snapped quickly and got aggressive. He complained about headaches and exhaustion quickly and had sudden outbursts of magic when something didn't work. It was a bit like he was losing control. Ian wondered, if it was some kind of magic flu... like Elsa who sneezed those tiny snowmen when she was sick. 

Mickey loved his garden and his house, for him it was all a living, breathing thing which could be loved like other people loved their family. His mother was buried here and this forest has been his home ever since he was a child. 

But Ian often felt like an outsider in this house. Mickey grew up here, he had a connection to the trees and the flowers, he talked to the birds and his house. Ian was not from here. He felt like he was from a whole other time period. He needed a TV and a computer, he needed to watch the news, go vote and work and be a part of society. 

This secluded life was nice if you wanted to hide from people - and Ian wanted that for a long time - but now Ian had the chance to have a future. A real future like every other person with the man he loved. 

Ian was running through the woods like nearly every morning to stay in shape. When he came back, Mickey was usually halfway finished watering the plants. 

But when he came back today, he saw Mickey standing in front of the rose bush, motionlessly. 

"mickey?", Ian asked when he approached, "Are you alright?"  
Mickey turned around to him, he was calm and his face looked empty, but he could see in his eyes that he was confused... and afraid of something. 

"Do you have anything to tell me?", Mickey asked calmly.  
Ian raised his eyebrows, "You look beautiful this morning?", Ian smiled.  
Mickey's mouth didn't even twitch, he just pointed at the rose buch. 

Ian sighed, he didn't need to look, he saw it this morning, more petals fell. and probably even more while he was on his run, since it was the time his kind was always spinning around this topic. 

"What is it?", Mickey asked.  
"It's not as problematic as you think. Also, I start to really hate this whole rose thing, it was cute in the beginning, but is it worth us freaking out everytime one of us thinks about our relationship?" 

"It doesn't react when you think about our relationship. It reacts when you doubt it. When you reconsider your decisions." 

Ian sighed again, "It reacts to every little thing. I don't doubt our whole fucking relationship Mickey! I was just thinking...."  
"Thinking about what? Why can't you just talk to me?" 

"Well, don't take it the wrong way, but you've been kinda grumpy lately... and unpredictable. Then there was the time when you lost control over your fire magic for a second because the water didn't boil fast enough and you almost burned down the whole kitchen."  
"It was one cabinet, not the whole kitchen" 

Ian rolled his eyes, "Do you have at least any explanation why this happens? Do you have, like, unresolved anger or something or a flu?"  
"Yes, because you don't talk to me." 

Ian looked at him defeated, okay, it was time to have the talk now.

"Okay, sit down"  
"I dont want to sit down, I want you to tell me what is going on. Did you meet someone else?" 

Ian could only scoff at this, he looked around, "Who? There is nobody here. Do you think I started an affair with a fox?" 

"What is it then?"  
"It's... it's this place, Mickey. I want to move back to my town."  
"You want to leave me?"  
"No. That's what I tried to figure out to ask you: I want to go back to the town with you. Live there. I want to be closer to my siblings again, I want to have a job. I want to live among people, not just trees." 

Mickey looked down at his feet, "Ian, no"  
"No? That's all you say?" 

"I can't go there, you know that. My dad will kill me. You know that. You remember what happened when I had to meet your siblings?"  
"Yes"  
"He tried to kill me in the open streets"  
"I know"  
"He followed us into the woods"  
"I know"  
"He almost found us, Ian, he would have burned me alive." 

Ian sighed and put his hands on Mickey's shoulders, "I know, Mickey. And I don't want to put you in harm's way. But I can't live out here forever... what if we move into another town then? I can get a job, we'll get a nice house and garden so you can keep doing your work, we can live like other people." 

"I can't leave this forest. I'm it's protector. I can't move further away than your town."  
"Protector of the forest, really? That's what you're going with?"  
"It will die without me. People will cut it down and build parking lots here... maybe we can move when my dad is dead"  
"Dead? He is like 50. By the time he is dead we will be fifty, half of our life will be over!" 

"My life is here. It's a good life Ian, you said yourself, you've never been happier than when you are here with me."  
"I was." 

Mickey started at him and then took a step away from him, anger was starting to show on his face.  
"Mickey please don't be angry. I love you, but this life... I'm not sure if it's enough." 

"I'm not enough for you?", he asked angrily, Ian could see his hands twitching, it looked like small lighting bolts danced between his fingers.  
"Mickey I don't want to fight if you don't have your magic under control.", he said and pointed at Mickeys hands. 

Mickey looked at his hands with a look, which Ian could only describe as fear. Ian came closer to him and took his hands in his, hoping it would calm him down.

"I don't want to fight at all with you, Mick. But this... it's serious stuff. I don't want to live in this forest forever. I wanted to get rid of the disorder so I can have a normal life among people. I want to have a job and, sorry, but a house that is not alive and doesn't lock me out when I leaned against her for too long." 

"And if I can't give that to you? If we end up at some point where you have to decide if it's me here or someone else somewhere else? What then?" 

"I...", he looked up at the sky and then back at him, "I don't know, Mickey. I need to figure that out."  
Ian could feel a small electric shock coming from Mickeys hands.  
"And I need to figure that out away from you" 

Suddenly, Ian felt a sharp pain in his hands and was hurled back through the air, he landed a few feet away from Mickey on his back, the fall knocked the air out of his lungs for a second. 

He needed a minute to catch his breath and realized what just happened.  
Mickey must have used his magic against him with such force, that it threw him away from him. 

Ian sat up and looked at Mickey, who looked at him shocked.  
"I'm sorry", he whispered, "I'm sorry", he looked at his hands and then pulled the sleeves of his shirt over them and sat down on the ground. 

Ian took a deep breath and stood up, he slowly walked over to him.  
"Mickey what is going on with you?"  
"I don't know", he whispered, "Just go away, Ian. Leave, I know you want to. This life isn't good enough and now I'm turning into this mess and harm you."  
"Mickey, look at me, I'm okay."  
"Look at your hands" 

Ian looked at the insides of his hands and was surprised to find deep burn Marks. The moment he acknowledged them, the pain he felt from the whole fall doubled and Ian groaned. 

Ian quickly went into the house where he took the small healing potion Mickey always had ready for burns and cuts. He poured it on his hands, deciding to not take the risk of Mickey helaing him now. 

The pain ebbed away and his hands returned to normal.  
Ian took a deep breath. Then he quickly searched some of his stuff together, he also took the rose from the nightstand, which showed him Mickeys feelings. It was glowing brightly, not even now fell a petal. He looked at it, around 3 weeks ago, he had noticed a new, small bud growing on it, which was odd, his rose Bush never grew new buds since he gave it to Mickey. 

He put his things into a bag and then stepped outside again. Mickey sat there like a little sad pile of ashes.

"I'm not leaving forever.", Ian said, "You hear me? I just need some time to figure out what I want. I will come back, definitely."  
"To end it officially."  
"I didn't say that."  
"I know what you will decide."  
"You don't know everything."  
"No I don't", he whispered, "If I would, you wouldn't leave." 

Ian kneeled down in front of him, "Mickey, I just need time to think.", he said and cupped his cheeks, "I love you regardless. But I want you to stop looking at that rose Bush, it's not fair and no matter what I decide it will just hurt you." 

Mickey looked at the roses and Ian jumped back when they suddenly went up in flames.  
"Mickey!", Ian exclaimed.  
Mickey kept looking at the fire, "Leave me alone. I don't need to be coddled. You already packed your things. Now fucking run before I let you go up in flames too." 

Ian shuddered at his tone. But he didn't want to make Mickey feel like he was afraid of him, he leaned in and kissed his forehead.  
"I love you", he said again, then took his things and left.


	15. Featherby

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's pronounced "feather - bee"

It's been a while since Ian went back to his siblings. They had all met Mickey twice. They actually liked him, though he struck them as a little weird and not very talkative. 

They were surprised when Ian suddenly came back home with a backpack of clothes. They thought the couple was happy. 

The first week Ian couldn't help himself but to cry a lot. He missed Mickey. His heart was aching and just wanted to get back to him. It was like in the beginning, when they met and Ian felt like a magnet, who desperately wanted to get back to his other magnet. 

But this wasn't about his romantic love story anymore... this was about what he wanted to do with his life. 

The longer he stayed in the town again, the more he realised how much he needed this. He needed more than just one person around him, he needed civilisation, technology, a job, contact to his siblings. 

He loved Mickey... but he needed to decide. Mickey and the life out there. Or someone else somewhere else. 

And to wait until Terry was dead? He was like 50, he drank a lot, had anger issues, got in fights all the time and participated in dangerous motorcycle rallies.  
He would live until he was maybe 80. That's thirty years. Ian couldn't live in that forest for 30 more years. After just the last years he couldn't take it anymore. 

Ian had left Mickey 3 Months ago and today was their 2. Anniversary.  
Ian felt bad for not being with him.  
He was worried about him, Mickey usually never lost control over his magic. 

He was powerful, he was very talented. He could craft new spells and potions on his own. Something was wrong and Ian should be with him... but unpredictable magic was scary. Too scary for Ian and he needed to concentrate on his decision making now. 

He was reading in his witch handbook, which he had also taken with him from the house, trying to find something about a witch flu or sudden outbursts of magic - but that usually only happened with children who were scared or upset and didn't learn how to control their magic yet. 

A knock on the window pulled him away from the book. He looked up to the window in front of the desk and frowned.... there sat a raven. 

If Ian wasn't mistaken, was it Mickey's raven, he allegedly enchanted him so he could speak, but only Mickey could understand him.

Ian opened the window confused and the raven hopped inside and dragged a small package inside with his beak. 

"Hey, Featherby", Ian said, he knew that it wasn't the Ravens name, but in his opinion a witch's talking raven had to have a cool name like featherby, not something dull like Rudy. 

The raven put the long, flat package in front of him.  
"What's that? Is it from Mickey? An anniversary present?" 

The raven crowed once and Ian smiled and opened the present.  
A small note lay on top of the actual present, Ian read it first. 

_I already planned to give this to you for this day before you left. It is an family heirloom I put under the most powerful protection spell I know, so no one can harm you, with or without magic. also not me. Regardless of your decision I want you to have it. Know that I'm okay and have my magic under control again. I love you_

Ian smiled and picked up the present. It was a silver ring with a small green gemstone in it. It was on a thin black leather band so he could wear it as necklace. 

Ian smiled at the ring. He pulled it over his head. He touched the ring above his shirt and smiled.  
"Tell him I love it, okay?"  
The raven looked at him funny, "I know what you're thinking, featherby. 'Can I now try to pick out his eyes like I wanted to since he left Mickey' so listen, I didn't leave him yet, and if you try to pick out my eyes, I will serve you for dinner." 

The raven crowed again.  
"Yeah, yeah, let me guess: You think I don't have anything for him for our anniversary. You're mistaken." 

Ian got up and went to his bed, he opened the bedside table. and got the present.  
"Here, but don't eat it, featherby. It's a root for my favourite roses. Tell him they remind me on him. And I want him to have new roses, after he burned down the last rose bush. But no magic. No monitoring my feelings. I love him, but I didn't make my decision yet... maybe I'll better write that down." 

He quickly wrote a note for Mickey, put the root in the middle of the paper and foldet it around it.  
"Can you carry this?", he asked the Raven, he took the package into his beak, hopped out of the room and flew away.


	16. A Decision

It's been 4 months now.  
Ian made up his mind. 

He had to leave Mickey. 

He loved him so much and being apart from him almost killed him. But he couldn't live in this forest forever. He wanted a real life, a real future. 

Mickey was his first big love - and Ian was sure he would find a second big love. 

But something deep inside of him always thought "Maybe I'll find a second big love - but it won't be as deep as Mickey's love. It wouldn't be Mickey" 

It was a tough decision and even now, when he was on the way to Mickey to break up with him for good, he wasn't completely sure if this was right. 

He reached the glade, he had his backpack with him, in it were just the book and the rose, which he kept in the package the ring used to be in. He planned to give the presents back. He was still wearing the ring on his neck, though, he wondered if Mickey would allow him to keep it. 

He saw Mickey by the flowers, he recognized the kind of rose he was watering, it was his anniversary present. Mickey must have used magic to plant and grow the flower. But he didn't seem to have connected it to him again. 

Ian walked towards him slowly, this place was beautiful. And so was Mickey. Ian was less and less sure with his decision the closer he got to him. 

"Hey, Mick"  
Mickey quickly turned around to him surprised, he was wearing his cloak even though it was summer. 

"Ian, I didn't expect you to come back."  
"I told you I would, to tell you how I've decided."  
Mickey bit his lip and wrapped the cloak around him, "I take it from your tone you don't have good news for me." 

"Mickey, I love you"  
"Then don't leave", he pleaded, "Please, Ian, you can't leave me now."  
Ian didn't expect Mickey to plead... he usually never did. Ian built his entire strength to leave him on the assumption he wouldn't plead and cry. 

"Mick...", he sighed, "I can't live like this forever. I need to get a life. A real life with real people in it."  
"I am real!"  
"Of course you are, and so is my love for you, but... this life out here... isn't. I'm sorry." 

They stood across from each other and Mickey actually started crying, lightly.  
"You can't leave me"  
"I will get the rest of my things now."  
"No!", his voice got louder and even more desperate, Ian walked past him towards the house. 

"I'm having a baby", he said suddenly, Ian froze midstep. 

Ian slowly turned around to him.  
"Come again?"  
"I'm having a baby", he repeated quietly, "Yours." 

Ian scoffed, "I'm sorry, are you trying to tell me you're pregnant?", he let put a short laugh.  
"Yes.", Mickey just stated and swallowed.  
"Mick, you're a man. You can't get pregnant by me. I get that you don't want me to leave but this is taking it a little far, don't you think?" 

"Look at the rose if you don't believe me. It has a new bud doesn't it?" 

Ian remembered the new bud on the rose Mickey had given him, it had appeared so suddenly shortly before Ian left. 

"Mickey... this... men can't get pregnant. I can't knock up a man. It's impossible and ridiculous. You're a man, you're not pregnant. " 

"I'm a witch.", he said coldly in response, "But fine, leave!", he yelled at him and walked towards the hut, "Leave but don't you dare ever coming back then. Fuck you, we don't fucking need you!"

The door was thrown shut loudly and left Ian outside alone. All the windows shut too and became darker so Ian couldn't look inside. 

Ian stood outside stunned.  
Pregnant? Was that really possible? Mickey was right, he wasn't an ordinary man, he was a witch. And Ian didn't read the witch pregnancy chapters in his book, because... well, he didn't assume it would be relevant. 

But if Mickey was indeed having his child... that would change everything. 

He sank to the ground and got the book out of his bag. 

_Pregnancies  
There are two kinds of pregnancies for witches: Biological and magical.  
The biological pregnancies can only occur when a Male and a female have offspring and one of them is not a witch. The offspring is always weaker than children conceived through a magical pregnancy _

_The magical pregnancy can occur in same sex couples, differnet sex couples, male and female witches and in very rare occasions even by a witch on her own without intercourse (there was only one documented case of this and she could have lied). The carrying parent is always a witch, regardless of biological gender. The children born through a magical pregnancy will be more powerful, because they have their own magic since the point of conceiving, which means that during the pregnancy the magical abilities of the carrying parent are multiplied, this can lead to unpredictable and uncontrollable magic in the beginning. During a biological pregnancy, the magical parent (which doesn't have to be the carrying parent) passes on a fraction of their magical ability. The children therefore have less potential than the magically born children._

_The magical pregnancy requires the wish for a child of the carrying parent and (usually) intercourse and the carrying parent has to climax during the intercourse (which is probably why magical pregnancies are more likely in men, or women in same sex relationships)_

Ian put the book down.  
It was possible.  
And if it was possible, it was what happened here. Mickey wouldn't lie about this. 

"Fuck", Ian mumbeld, he needed to apologise to Mickey immediately, he needed to take care of him! If he would have read the pregnancy parts earlier, he would have caught on to the unpredictable magic being caused by this earlier. 

More importantly, if Mickey was really having his child, Ian would definitely stay. He wanted a family, husband and child. He would even endure living in this forest a while longer if he could get Mickey and a family in return. This was what he always wanted! 

He took the book and the rose and went to the door, but when he tried to open it, it wouldn't budge. Of course, the house was angry at him again. 

"House, please let me in. Let me talk to him.", he said softly and carefully ran his hand over the wall of the house. She liked that.  
And really, the door opened for him.  
"Thanks", Ian mumbeld and went inside. 

He saw Mickey lying in his bed. He used his cloak as blanket and lay on his side. 

Ian took off his shoes and went over to him. He lay down behind him and kissed his neck. 

"I'm sorry", he whispered.  
"Go away"  
"Never again", he promised, "I love you. And I just read that pregnancies in male witches really are a thing and not a rare one, so if you really are having my child, I'll love our child too, and I'll stay with you." 

"I'm not gonna force you to stay here for the baby, you made it more than clear that you don't want to live here." 

"I want to have a family with you more than I want to not live in the forest. Also, I don't have anything against the forest or this house, I love it here. I just don't want to live away from other people forever. But more importantly, I always wanted a husband and children, I want that kind of life, a whole, healthy family. Would have been impossible with bipolar, we couldn't have adopted a child living out here or without either of us having a job. But now... we'll have a baby, and I get to have a baby with you, this is not only awesome, it's all I've ever dreamed of, my love" 

Mickey turned around to him, Ian smiled at him lovingly.  
"It's what I want too"  
"I know", Ian smirked, "According to this book, magical pregnancies only happen if the carrying parent, which is you, wants to have a baby."  
Mickey nodded, "I didn't get pregnant on purpose though. I always thought it meant literal wish, it was just something I thought about a lot, and I started wanting to have baby with you some day. Some day was sooner than I expected." 

Ian chuckled and kissed him, "which month are you in now? I was gone for 4 whole months, I should have been here for you.... do witch pregnancies take as long as human pregnancies?"  
"They do. You left pretty early, so I should be around 5 months along. Did you see when the new bud appeared on the rose?"  
"Yeah, about a month before I left... so yeah, 5 months. Shit, I already missed half of it. I should have been here and helped you." 

"It's alright, there isn't much you could have done, except getting electrocuted and burned a few more times by accident." 

Ian chuckled, "Did you know you were pregnant when I left?"  
"It crossed my mind as possibility, but I didn't know."  
"Why didn't you tell me when you found out, though? I would have been here within a split second. Or at least in the letter for our anniversary when you gave me the ring?" 

Mickey shrugged, "I hoped... I hoped you would still decide for me even without the child... but you didn't." 

Ian sighed and cuddled him closer, "I decided against this life out here, because I thought it couldn't give me what I want. I was never 100% sure because I knew I would never find a man like you again. I couldn't be happier right now"

Mickey smiled, he took Ian's left hand and guided it over his body to where his stomach already started to grow because of the baby inside.  
"There is our baby", he whispered, "will be born in 4 months and I was terrified at the thought of you never coming back to us" 

Ian smiled excitedly, "I'm here now, and I'm not leaving, so don't be scared of that anymore, okay?"  
Mickey nodded and kissed him. 

"Hey, one question though... how will our baby be born? How will you do that?"  
"Good question, but you have that smart book I gave you. Try to find out within the next 4 months and let me know, yeah?" 

Ian chuckled and kissed him again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you who didn't read the tags this might have come as a surprise  
> For those of you who did read the mpreg tag - maybe you were wondering when this was supposed to play a part - but no one mentioned it in the comments so 😅


	17. Warmth and Cuddles

Ian explained to his siblings that he was back on track with his boyfriend and moved in with him again, he also told them that they were now planning to adopt a child. 

With the news of a baby being on the way, Ian enjoyed the forest life again. 

He felt guilty for not being there for his boyfriend for half of this pregnancy, so the first week or so, he told him to sit down and fucking relax multiple times a day while he tried to take over Mickeys daily tasks in the garden. 

In the evening they lay on Mickeys sofa, Ian was reading in his book and Mickey was leaned against him, lying between Ian's legs, and tried to read something in an old medical book specifically from and for witches, trying to find something about pregnancies. 

"Huh", Ian said eventually.  
"What is it?"  
"I just read that the carrying parent needs a lot of warmth, and body contact from the partner, so the carrying parent and the child feel comfortable." 

"I did need more warmth ever since I got pregnant. That's why I'm wearing that cloak in summer now"  
"It says, winter pregnancies make grumpy witches", he grinned at Mickey, "You were a winter pregnancy weren't you?" 

Mickey rolled his eyes and stuck his nose back into his own book.  
Ian took the extra blanket from the ground and put it over the two of them. 

"There we go, all warm and good for my small, carrying parent"  
"You can be so fucking annoying", Mickey mumbled.  
"You love me for it though", he smiled and kissed the top of his head. 

Ian smiled at him and ran his hands through his black hair.  
He put his book on the coffee table and took his tea, he sipped on it and then passed the mug Down to Mickey. When Ian wanted to pick up his book again, he accidentally grabbed another one which lay next to it. 

He just noticed his mistake when he saw someone had tried to burn it. Ian opened it confused, at the spot he opened pages were teared out of it. 

"What happened with this?", Ian asked and showed it to Mickey.  
Mickey bit his lip and took the book from him to toss it to the other sofa away from them. 

"Nothing"  
"Another outburst?"  
Mickey sighed, "No. I was just angry. It was my great aunts book."  
"You were angry at your great aunts spell book?"  
"Kinda", he shrugged. 

Ian waited for more, but Mickey was reading again.  
"Why were you angry? Why did you tear pages out of it?"  
Mickey closed his medical book and sat up, Ian sat up too and waited for the answer. 

"It's stupid... in the months during which you were gone I was afraid you would really leave me - and well, you planned to. And I was thinking about whether I should tell you about the baby or not, if I should let you go if you want to and so on and I... got angry at my great aunt because she made me think you would never leave." 

Ian looked at him confused.  
"Mickey... she died before you were born, how can she make you believe anything?"  
"The spell"  
"The one you used to take my disorder?" 

"No, the protection spell around the house. You remember when we met and I said you shouldn't be able to find you?"  
"Yeah. You said only witches should be able to find you through the barrier." 

"My great aunt designed that spell in a way that two kinds of people can get through - Witches and... well", he swallowed, "soulmates" 

"Soulmates? Really?"  
"Yeah", Mickey rolled his eyes, "Apparently the ancient circles were really into the legends of the soulmate and they even had a spell to find out whether two people would be soulmates, I think they were said to produce stronger offspring and the witches back then were all about power." 

"You believe I'm your soulmate?", Ian smiled, "That's so sweet"  
"Fuck off. It was the only logical answer to why you would be able to find me. But when I thought you were gone forever I got fucking angry at her for making me believe you... we would have this kind of connection." 

Ian turned Mickeys head to him so he could look into his eyes, "I love you. And I think you are my soulmate.", he started grinning, "And that means our little soulmate baby will be an even stronger and more powerful little witch than anyways." 

Mickey smiled, "Why do you care whether our baby is a powerful witch?"  
Ian shrugged, "You can teach them all of your spells and potions and they grow up to be an amazingly strong witch Who can just do everything. Doesn't every parent want their kid to be strong?"  
"Sure, but have you ever met an extremely powerful witch baby which has zero control over his powers? Human babies scream, our baby will burn down the house everytime he's hungry." 

Ian smiled, "He?"  
"I don't know, I just have a feeling that it could be a boy, not even I have control over this."  
Ian grinned and kissed him, "Reagrdless, we'll have a beautiful and strong little baby. And we'll be able to handle him or her perfectly. Also, you gave me this ring, it's supposed to protect me from unpredictable magic, right?" 

Mickey touched the ring above Ian's shirt, "Yeah", he smiled, "It's supposed to protect you from any harm... it will definitely protect you from any kind of magic that may harm you. I'm not sure how far this goes for humans and accidents and that stuff. I tried to add it to the potion I let this sit in, but It's experimental." 

Ian smiled, "You don't need to worry about me, okay? I will be fine. Now, let's get you to bed. You need a lot of warmth and cuddles from the not carrying parent."  
Mickey chuckled, "Is that really want you are gonna call yourself now?"  
Ian nodded, took the medical book out of his boyfriends hands and then got up from the couch, he picked his boyfriend up and carried him over to the bed under loud protest from Mickeys side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I edited that while watching s10 of Voice of Germany- so if you find more mistakes than usual:   
> It's because Samu Haber (singer of Sunrise Avenue) and Rea Gavie are in one chair this season I love this so much 🥰🥰🥰🥰   
> Also Stephanie Kloos (singer of best german band ever) and Yvonne Caterfeld have the first female double chair and are so amazing too ! We have 6 coaches this season this is gonna be the best season ever!!!!!!


	18. The heartbeat spell

_On witch pregnancies: The use of magic during the pregnancy  
In case of a magical pregnancy the child is conceived through magic and the fetus has it's own magic already. Since it can't access this magic, the carrying parent can use the extra magic, which leads to the unpredictable magic outbursts in the beginning of the pregnancy. The carrying parent can use this magic without needing to worry about their baby. We encourage magic use throughout the pregnancy, since it will strengthen the baby's magic abilities and results in a baby whose magic outbursts are not as chaotic and unpredictable as usual, also it will be easier for the child to learn to control it's powers later. _

Mickey was now 7 months along. The little baby was happily rolling and kicking around inside of the witch, which greatly annoyed him. 

Since Ian read that the use of magic will benefit their child, and hopefully prevent the baby from setting the house on fire as soon as they get hungry, he encouraged Mickey to do all the chores around the house magically. Of course not everything, since he didn't want Mickey to exhaust himself, but Mickey took over the gardening again - which he wanted to do anyways, since he didn't trust Ian with all his precious trees and flowers. 

Ian had the crazy idea to build his child a crib. He wanted to do something for this child, and since Mickey said they didn't have to buy anything, he could just conjure up a nursery, Ian wanted to build a crib. 

He didn't know anything about woodwork, he let Mickey get all the needed things to him magically and then started crafting a baby bed. 

Mickey sat on a blanket outside in the garden and watched him. 

"So, let me get this straight: I'm pregnant for 9 months, grow a little munchkin inside of me that kicks me the entire time, get fat and moody and then give birth to it somehow- just for the little one to be buried under this bed when it inevitably falls apart?" 

"So little faith in me?", Ian smirked, "Also, I found the passage in the book that states how you will give birth."  
"Really? Why didn't you tell me yet?"  
"Well... I was hoping they would give another option. Do you happen to know any other witches?"  
"No, no alive ones anyway, why?" 

Ian sighed, "okay, male witch pregnancies are always magical pregnancies, obviously, so the birth will also be magical."  
"I was counting on that. The other options are pressing a baby through my asshole or cutting myself open with a kitchen knife. I'd prefer the kitchen knife." 

Ian shook his head, trying to loose those images in his head.  
"However.", he took the witch handbook, "I marked the most important parts. Basically, you will be in intense pain throughout the whole thing, because the baby practically tries to teleport itself out of you, which means it tries to channel it's magic and... well, in short, it tries to bust you open to escape." 

"Bust me open? Why I've been nothing but nice to him!"  
"It could end in a minor explosion that leaves a hole in you, through which the baby could escape. The baby won't be able to move on its own but is acting like he could." 

"Great. I hate it. How do I prevent him from hatching me open like a baby bird?"  
"There is a special kind of teleportation birthing spell. Here, I circled it for you, you will basically teleport the baby out of your body, while being in extreme pain and the baby fighting back. Usually it takes 2 to 4 witches to deliver the baby safely, not counting the carrying parent. And we... it's just you here." 

Mickey blinked a few times at the spell, he opened his mouth and swallowed hard, he looked up at him with sad eyes, "Basically, I will probably die. And never meet my baby" 

Ian looked at him compassionately, he closed the book and cupped his cheeks, "No you will be fine. It's not like no witch ever delivered a baby safely on his own. You are a powerful, strong witch, Mickey, King of the third ancient circle", he took one of Mickeys hands and kissed his knuckles, "you can make it. Of course you will meet our baby and you'll teach them all of your spells and potions and how to take care of the garden." 

Ian kissed his boyfriend's lips, then he wanted to get back to his woodwork project, but Mickey stopped him with a small magic barrier that didn't let him go further away from him.

Ian turned back around to him, "What do you need?"  
"Body contact", Mickey mumbled, it was true that witches needed that more often during the pregnancy, but right now Mickey just needed to be close to him, because the thought of not being able to ever meet his child made him incredibly sad. 

Ian lay down on the blanket Mickey was sitting on and the witch lay down beside him, his head on his shoulder, Ian wrapped an arm around him and kissed his forehead. 

"We should start thinking about baby names", Ian said, "Don't you think?"  
"We still don't know if we're gonna have a boy or a girl."  
"Then we choose a name for both a boy and a girl... or what if we get twins? Oh shit, you would know if it would be twins, right?" 

Mickey smiled, "I'm not having twins, I know that for sure."  
"Yeah? How?"  
Mickey smiled and took Ian's hand, he put it on his stomach where the baby was, "Listen", he whispered. 

And really, a second later he could hear a noise surrounding them, which grew louder and louder.  
"Is that... our baby's heartbeat?", the ginger started smiling like an angel.  
"Yes, and it's only one heart, so one baby."  
"It sounds amazing"  
"Yeah, it does", he whispered, "I found the heartbeat spell a few weeks ago, sometimes when you're asleep and the baby kicks me and doesn't let me calm down, I just listen to it." 

Ian kissed Mickey's cheek, "I love you so much"  
"I love you too... you will take good care of our baby if I don't make it, right?", Mickey asked while the heartbeat spell wore off and the sound got quieter again.  
"Shht, Mick, you will make everything just fine. We'll raise our baby together. I promise you."  
"You can't promise. You can't see the future." 

"No? Let me try: I see a future, where you, me and our child are living in a house in the town right by the forest, your dad is dead and my siblings sometimes watch the baby when we go on a date here in this glade. The rest of the time, I have a job and I come home to you in the afternoon, where you teach our child how to tend the garden, and on their 5th birthday or so, we will give them their first own tree to tend on their own. And sometimes when they get mad, their magic will just fly out of them accidentally and crash something, but you tell them it's okay, that it's just about training and that we're not mad and then you teach them how to control their powers. Sometimes when I get home, they come running as soon as I open the door to show me the new spell they've learned. And then I kiss you and tell you I love you and we're making dinner together and it almost burns because we're too busy making out. And in the evening I put our child to bed, tuck them in and read them a bedtime story about little witches." 

Mickey smiled and sighed, "That does sound nice... so you still want to move back into the town?"  
"Yes, some day. But only after your dad is dead. I mean, you're a powerful witch, you could tear him apart by just looking at him, but he will try to kill our baby too, and he won't get his hands on our little bean, if I have to shoot him myself." 

Mickey leaned up to him and kissed him.  
"So, about those names. Any ideas?", he smiled.  
Ian ran his hand through Mickeys dark hair, "If we have a daughter, we could call her Rose." 

Mickey lay back down on his shoulder, "Rose? Really? Isn't that a little bit too cheesy?"  
"Why? It's symbolic, I gave you roses when we met and for our anniversary, I still have the enchanted rose you gave me... our child is even represented through a new flower on it."

"Yeah, I know why you chose Rose, but that's... no. It's too much super meaningful naming."  
Ian sighed, "okay. How about Lavender. Or Daisy"  
"Or Tulip?", Mickey interrupted, "Why would you want to give our daughter a flower name?"  
Ian shrugged, "She would be a wood witch, like you, I think it would be fitting." 

"And if it's a boy you would call him Parsley or what?"  
"Hm, that doesn't sound so bad actually."  
"How about we give our baby a human name? Yeah?" 

Ian rolled his eyes, "If we have to... we could call her after your mother, if you would like that"  
"Morana was the slavic goddess of winter and death." 

Ian raised his eyebrows, "Your grandmother was weird, man"  
"You don't say."  
"Okay, what about that great-aunt of yours?"  
"Wynona? She spent most of her days with orgies and killing people by accident." 

Ian nodded, "What about your sister? If we have a girl, we could name her after your sister."  
"Amanda. It's a nice name."  
"I think so too. So Amanda for a girl?"  
"Yeah.", Mcikey smiled, "And a boy's name? Any interesting name on your side of the family?" 

"A bunch of drunks and addicts, I don't want my child to be called like them. What about the men in your family?"  
Mickey shook his head, "I don't even know the names of most of them. And Amanda would already be called after someone from my family. We should be able to come up with a good name for a baby on our own."

"Well, that's coming from a guy who called his talking Raven Rudy."  
"I didn't call him that. That's his name. And he hates it when you call him featherby." 

Ian chuckled, "Okay, seriously, baby boy's name: Harry."  
"I'm not gonna call my baby after Harry Potter."  
"Gandalf"  
"No. Stay serious. I always liked the name Killian, actually" 

Ian frowned at him, "Killian? Do you still have some pend up anger against me for being gone those 4 months?"  
"No... why?"  
"Because Killian literally spells Kill Ian. You are aware of that right?" 

"Oh", Mickey said and smirked, "You're right. It's a nice name though. Then what about Toby?"  
"Toby... yeah, that sounds cute, actually. Baby Witch Toby."  
Mickey smiled, "yes, that sounds right."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I recently started watching Once upon a time (currently at s5) and bc of that really wanted to name the baby Killian for a boy but ... well....


	19. If one dies the other shall live

Ian built the crip for Baby Amanda or Baby Toby. He was very proud of himself, he also carved a small pattern into it. 

Mickey was preparing himself for the birth. For this, he didn't use any magic the last one and a half weeks, before that he had crafted multiple potions for more energy and strength. 

Ian was in the town this morning, he wanted to get a few baby things from the Gallagher house.  
He met Liam and walked him to school, while happily chatting about him and his boyfriend "adopting" a baby every minute now. 

He got some breakfast from the local Bakery and then went back into the forest.  
He whistled a small melody while making his way through the trees until he entered the glade. Mickey sat on the little bench in front of the house and drank his tea while waiting for Ian to come back with the baked goods he promised him. 

He was nine months pregnant and the birth could happen every day now.  
He also was in a pretty bad mood most of the time, because he felt fat, and moving the tiniest bit was exhausting. He also barely slept in the past weeks and was very grumpy. 

Ian arrived at the house and helped Mickey to get up.  
He kissed him and held the bakery bag up. Mickey smiled and took them from him. 

"Finally, I'm so hungry"  
Ian put his hands on Mickeys baby bump.  
"The baby is gonna come soon, then you can let your food appear on spot again." 

Mickey smirked, "Yeah, but you playing delivery boy is nice too"  
Ian chuckled and kissed him again. 

Suddenly, a loud shot echoed through the glade, the two pulled apart when a bullet missed Ian just for an inch and hit the house instead. The house let out a deep, dark sound. 

Ian couldn't even care who just found them, he quickly pushed Mickey towards the house.  
"Go inside! Go inside!", he yelled at him and another shot was fired. 

Ian turned around, trying to see who was shooting at them before running into the house too. 

At the edge of the glade, at the spot where Ian came in too, was Terry with his gun, slowly walking towards the house. 

Ian closed the door behind him and he knew the house would keep Terry out.  
Mickey looked like he was panicking, he stood against the counter opposite from the door. 

"Mickey! Come out you evil witch!", Terry screamed from outside.  
Ian came to Mickey and hugged him, "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry", he whispered over and over again while Terry shot at the house, "I didn't notice him following me, love, I'm so sorry" 

A window broke when Terry shot at it, Mickey flinched hard in Ian's arms.  
"Fuck", he redhead whispered, "Do you happen to have a gun or something here? Or maybe I can go out and throw one of these potions on him" 

"No", Mickey said and looked up at him, "You go out there, you'll die. You're not even wearing the ring and I don't know if it can ward off bullets." 

Mickey was right, Ian had left the necklace with the ring on the bedside table, he couldn't sleep with it at night and he forgot it this morning. 

Ian pulled away from Mickey slowly and quickly went over to the bed to get the ring, he put the necklace back around his neck.

"No, it's not gonna work, Ian... I'll go. I can stop him with my magic."  
"If you use too much magic, we can't know if you survive giving birth. And also, I will absolutely not let you go out there while being this fucking pregnant!" 

"Come out you God forsaken creature! It's time your line finally meets its end!" 

"He wants me", Mickey said to Ian, "I'll go. I stop him. I didn't use magic in over a week, I'm strong enough to even kill him." 

"Yeah, he wants you, he wants to kill you and our baby! I will absolutely not-" 

Another window broke with a crashing sound and Ian screamed loudly and held his arm. He quickly got out of the way and back to Mickey while blood ran down his pale arm. 

Now this got Mickey's blood boiling. Terry really hurt Ian. Mickeys face turned pale and cold. 

Ian went to the cabinet to get a healing potion for himself, at the same time, while Ian wasn't looking, Mikhailo took his wand and opened the door. 

For a moment, the glade was dead silent as father and son stood across from each other. 

"There you are"  
"There I am. What will you do now?" 

Terry raised his gun and shot at him, Mikhailo just raised his wand and the bullets stopped in front of him and fell to the ground. 

Mikhailo slowly walked towards his father, who kept shooting at him and Mikhailo kept stopping the bullets as if they were nothing. 

He eventually stood only two feet away from Terry. His face was ice cold, his eyes burned with anger. The sky above them turned darker, as Mikhailo's rage was affecting the nature around him now, a phenomenon Ian had only noticed once or twice and only during the pregnancy. 

And for the first time, Ian could see Terry Milkovich being afraid of something. He was afraid of the legendary wood witch in front of him. 

Terry pointed the gun at him again and fired, but nothing happened, the gun only clicked. 

"Empty", was the only thing Mikhailo said and Terry threw his gun away and suddenly started running. 

Ian sighed, he watched it all from the door, this was good. Terry left on his own, Mickey didn't use too much magic, Terry wouldn't find them again, once he was out of the glade. 

But suddenly Terry was stopped, he was running and it looked like he run into a glass door, he couldn't keep going, he was trapped in an invisible prison. 

Like a mime Terry was pushed back towards Mikhailo by the invisible wall while trying to run away.

"Where are you going so soon?", Mikhailo asked, "Used so much energy to find me and now you run away?" 

Terry stared at him like a small child would stare at a dragon who was about to eat him. 

"Let me go, witch!"  
"Like you let Amanda go?", Mikhailo asked calmly and Terry flinched at the mention of her name. 

"That was an accident. It was the witch's fault! She made me do it!"  
"She didn't. It was you alone. You just can't stop, can you? You hit my mother, you forced us into exile, you hunted me all my life and now you shot my partner. I'm not letting you go. Never again. Like you didn't let Amanda go" 

Mikhailo came now even closer to Terry, stared at his face, "You remember that day? How you held her so tightly she couldn't breathe?", Ian noticed from his spot how something started to grow from the grass around Terry's ankles, they grew up his legs, turning like snakes. Terry couldn't move anyways. 

"And she cried and she screamed, but almost no sound came out", the green robes fastened themselves around Terry's body, so tightly the man could barely breathe, then they snuck around his neck. 

"And I screamed at you to let her go, but you wouldn't listen. And mother lay in the kitchen because you beat her unconscious and for minutes you didn't notice Mandys struggling and you didn't notice her stop breathing and moving. You're only ever thinking about yourself. And now I'm thinking about myself. And my life. Because when you're dead"

, and now Mikhailo smiled while the ropes around Terry's neck got tighter, 

"My boyfriend and I can move back to the town, I can have a life again and he can have the life he wants. And we can get married and we will raise our child together without ever being bothered by you again." 

And his smile grew wider, when the ropes got even tighter and Terry turned blue and his eyes got red and he heard the cracking of Terry's wind pipe and his spine and his smile was diabolic and hateful when the sharp ropes cut through the flesh and finally, with a last motion of the wand, Terry's head was separated from his body, it fell into the grass right in front of Mikahilo and blood his his face and his clothes. 

He heard Ian screaming behind him in shock and disgust, and the sound pulled him back into reality. 

He was almost shocked by himself, by what he had done, he stepped away from the body quickly, walked backwards to the house. 

Ian came towards him and grabbed his arms to turn Mickey around. 

"What have you done?", Ian whispered.  
Mickey looked at him filled with fear, "That wasn't me", he whispered, "I wanted to let him go, but... something took over and-", he stopped talking when suddenly a sharp pain went through his body. 

"Mick?", Ian asked concerned.  
Mickey's body started to shake, his legs gave out underneath him while strong waves of pain hit him, he put his hands on his stomach and groaned in pain. 

"Fuck", Ian whispered, "The baby is coming now, isn't it?" 

Ian wanted to panic, but Mickey was screaming in his arms now and dug his nails into his arm.  
He couldn't panic, he needed to keep a clear head to get Mickey through this birth without him dying. The magic he had just used possibly drained most of his energy. 

Ian picked Mickey up and carried him inside to the bed. 

"Okay, stay calm, Mick, I'm here.", Ian said, Mickey couldn't concentrate on him, he was too busy with the pain. The book clearly didn't exaggerate. 

After he put him on the bed, Mickey went to the cabinet to get the strength and energy potions. Mickey had labelled them all carefully so Ian could give them to him during the pregnancy without Mickey having to point out the right ones. 

He brought them to the bed and opened bottle after bottle, giving them to Mickey one by one. 

"Energy, Strength, magic enhancer... I just hope this is enough.", Ian said while running around the bed to get the handbook where he had marked the spell Mickey had to use. 

Mickey's pain seemed to increase by the minute, he screamed and shouted for Ian to help him- an impossible request of course. 

"What can I do, love? Here is the spell, where is - where is the wand? Is it still outside - fuck! I'll get it"  
"No - don't leave me! Ian, please don't leave me!"  
"Shht, Mick, I'm right back, I'll be back in a second", Ian assured him and ran outside, the wand lay in the grass, he picked it up carefully and brought it inside to Mickey, he pushed the wand into his hand and sat next to Mickey on the bed, he pulled his partner to him do his head lay in Ian's lap.  
Mickey grabbed Ian's hand. 

"Shht, It's okay, I'm here, Love, I'm here. Breathe"  
Mickey tried to concentrate on his breathing, but a new wave of pain hit him. 

"It's okay, concentrate, just concentrate on the baby. You need to concentrate on the baby, you need to get him out of your body and then the pain will be gone. I'll be here the whole time. We'll make it together.", he kissed Mickeys knuckles. 

Mickey was screaming and gasping in Ian's arms, who tried to keep him calm, at the same time he held the book up for Mickey, so he could read the spell. 

A few spells required actual spoken words, but only the really big ones. Most of them just took movements with hands or wands and the channeling of magic in the right way. 

Mickey was sweating and panting heavily, while trying to force the words out and channelling the magic through his wand. He concentrated his entire magic on the baby inside of him. 

Ian and Mickey lost all feeling of time.  
The birthing process took several hours of immense pain and systematic exhaustion. 

Ian felt Mickey getting weaker in his arms, but also the pain seemed to ease. 

As far as Ian could tell from the stuff he memorized from the book, everything was still normal, it was normal that the birth took many hours, until the witches could "overpower" the raw magical force, this baby essentially was, isolate it and teleport it safely into the outside world. 

Ian felt pretty much useless, he just held Mickeys hand tried to calm him. 

After more than five hours, something changed. Mickey suddenly stopped turning and squirming in Ian's lap, and a thin smoke came from the tip of the wand and settled in a small nest on top of Mickeys stomach. 

Ian's eyes widened, when on top of the small nest a tiny, new born baby appeared. 

The infant started screaming immediately when it got air into its lungs for the first time. It was a bit bloody and generally looked like any new born child that would have been born naturally. 

Ian quickly took the baby blanket that he had prepared and picked the baby up. Now his part started. He carefully wrapped the baby in the blanket, he needed to wash the small human and check if he was healthy and okay, but before he could even move a horrible fear crept up his spine. 

"Mickey? Mickey can you hear me? Look, our baby is here, our baby is fine... it's a boy, Mick", he swallowed hard and tried to feel Mickeys pulse. It was still there. Mickey was also still breathing he just passed out - he just needed to sleep, he was fine, he survived it. 

Ian carefully got off the bed with their son and washed him, he counted all 10 toes and fingers, two ears, two arms, two legs, two eyes, one nose and a mouth. Weirdly enough - he even has a belly button. 

Ian carefully rocked the baby in his arms after he put a diaper on him and dressed him in a onesie. They had anticipated Mickey would pass out and had prepared everything Ian would need to take care of the baby on his own as long as Mickey was asleep.


	20. Meeting Baby Toby

Mickey was extremely exhausted through the birth, he was asleep for more than 24 hours. Not even the baby's screams did anything to him. 

Ian didn't mind, they had enough formula, he didn't rely on Mickey's magic. He changed the baby's diapers, rocked him to sleep and then sometimes just watched him sleep lovingly. 

When Mickey finally woke up, Ian was currently sitting on the couch and feeding the baby. He heard movements from the bed. 

"Mickey? Are you awake?", Ian asked, he didn't want to raise his voice around the baby. 

Ian got up and walked to the bed, Mickey sat there, leaned against the headboard, his father's blood was still on his face and his clothes, he looked at him and the baby desperately. 

"Hey, Mickey, finally", Ian smiled and sat down at the edge of the bed, "Look, someone wants to say hello" 

Ian carefully gave the baby to Mickey, who looked at him in awe.  
"Look, Toby, it's your pops", Ian whispered. 

Mickey smiled at the baby, "Hi Toby", he whispered, "You were so worth all that fucking pain" 

Ian chuckled and kissed Mickeys cheek. He crawled to the other side of the bed and gave Mickey the baby bottle, "Do you want to finish feeding him?" 

Mickey nodded and took the bottle from him, "For how long was I out?"  
"A day and a half. But everything was fine, I took care of Toby, you needed to rest." 

When he finished feeding Toby, he rocked him in his arms until he fell asleep.  
"I don't even want to give him out of my arms, but I really want to take a bath right now" 

Ian chuckled, "Why don't you put him in the crip, I prepare the bath for you." 

After Mickey came back from his bath, the couple sat down at the table to eat some dinner. 

"Uhm, Mick, I have a request, by the way."  
"A request?"  
"Yeah... you see, there is kinda a rotting body in our garden right now. Could you like... get rid of that?" 

"Oh", Mickey mumbled, "Yeah, I'll get right to it tomorrow when I'm back to full strength. I'll put him somewhere underground in the forest... I still can't believe I did that. I would never kill someone... though he did deserve it." 

"You said, something took over"  
Mickey shrugged, "Kind of. It was a weird feeling. Like I just saw you bleeding, and I knew he was out to kill you and our baby, and me of course. When he wanted to run, I wanted to let him go, but some instinct... I don't know, it was like a protector instinct completely took over, I just did what I had to, to keep you and Toby safe forever." 

Ian nodded, "It was scary, to be honest. But I don't really mind. He's dead, can't hurt you or our baby, we can move back to the town now." 

Mickey smiled at him, "Yeah, we can do that. I wouldn't mind our son growing up with other people around, kids he can play with and stuff... which reminds me, did he show any kind of magical outbursts or something?" 

"Only once, I took a shower and before I was finished he started crying for a new diaper. When I wasn't there fast enough, he let some sparks fly around. One of them landed on a spoon on the table and melted that shit down to nothing." 

"It's not sparks, it's raw magic. I'm protected from it, can absorb it, same can your ring. But metal and plastic react very badly to it. We should wait a while until we can let him among other people." 

Ian nodded, "Yeah that sounds great. He can grow up here for a while and when he's older we move to the town. This is a great place for a baby actually... do you think you could forge a birth certificate for Toby, by the way, we have to make sure he gets recognized as citizen somehow", Ian chuckled. 

Mickey nodded, "Tomorrow, I don't feel like using any magic yet."  
"Okay", Ian smiled, "There are non magical activities I wouldn't mind doing again." 

Ian pulled Mickey from his chair and over to him. Mickey sat down on top of Ian and kissed him. Slow kisses turned into a heated making out quickly. 

Ian ran his hands over Mickeys back and down to his ass.  
"Wait", Mickey said and leaned back, "I just almost died whilst giving birth, I don't want to go through this right away again." 

Ian chuckled, "You can't get pregnant unless you want another child, Mickey", he reminded him.  
Mickey smiled and shrugged, "I know, but as we've found out, it doesn't take a literal wish." 

"Does that mean you want a second baby one day?"  
Ian smiled, "One day", he said and touched the ring Ian was wearing around his neck. 

Ian pecked Mickey's lips and the witch took the necklace with the ring off Ian.  
"What are you doing?"

Mickey freed the ring from the necklace and held up in front of Ian. Ian started grinning, "What? Are you proposing to me now?" 

Mickey smiled, "I was thinking for a while, we have a baby now, we can have that normal life you talked about in town... you said you wanted a real family and I kind of really want to be Ian Gallagher's husband for some reason. So what do you think, will you marry me?" 

Ian grinned brightly at him, "Yes, of course I'll fucking marry you", he whispered and kissed him passionately,"Now give me the ring back, or I'm gonna end up like that spoon when Toby gets hungry." 

Mickey laughed and put the ring on Ian's finger.


	21. Epilogue

5 years later 

Ian and Mickey lived in a house near the forest, they had a huge garden and little Toby helped his pops with his garden work every day. The happy little boy loved the garden and the trees, he loved having his small, pale hands deep in the dark dirt to harvest carrots, as orange as his hair. He had bright blue eyes which appeared giant in his small head with the soft, golden freckles on his cheeks.

Ian's siblings came to visit now and then and Toby loved playing with his cousins, Mickey didn't even mind them playing hide and seek in the garden and accidentally stepping on the plants, he could always make them whole again. 

The Gallaghers often brought photos of Ian when he was around Toby's age, he looked almost exactly like him, just that Toby had Mickeys piercing blue eyes.  
The Gallaghers were always surprised about how similar they looked, and how lucky Ian and Mickey were to have found a baby who looked like he could be theirs. 

Ian came home from work in the afternoon, Toby was practically glued to the window and came running as soon as he saw his dad opening the gate. 

Toby always jumped down from the porch into Ian's arms, to then be carried back inside. 

Ian walked inside into the kitchen where Mickey was sitting with an old witch book like so often. He was dressing more modern now - he looked fucking good in Jeans and flannels with cut off sleeves. 

"Daddy look, I can light candles now!", Toby said excitedly, "Pops where is my candle?" 

Mickey pushed the candle to the edge of the table and put his book away. Ian let Toby down so he could prepare his fire spell and kissed Mickey. 

"Dad, look, you have to look!"  
"I'm looking", Ian said smiling and looked at Toby who stretched his hands out towards the candle. 

It took a while of intense staring, but eventually Toby made it to light the candle in front of him. He raised his hands in the air and cheered. 

Ian laughed and hugged the child, held him up into the air.  
"Good job, little witch", he said and kissed his son's cheek. 

Mickey smiled at the two.  
"Hey, Toby why don't you go to your room and play something, dad and I make dinner."  
"Okay", Ian let Toby down.  
"But no lighting random things on fire", Mickey said.  
"Oh man", Toby complained and went to his room. 

Ian chuckled and kissed Mickey again.  
"I love you"  
"I love you too", Mickey smiled and got up, "How was your day?"  
"Fun, my coworker, you know, Jeff, the one I hate, he got fired for stealing medical supplies from the hospital." 

Mickey smirked, "Was that the one who hated you, because he was sure you were doing some illegal shit?"  
"Yeah, he was convinced we couldn't afford this house and this garden with just me doing the same job he is doing."  
"To be fair, he is right. I pitch in by selling some of our harvest and", he grinned, "My 'inheritance' from auntie Wynona." 

Ian smiled and kissed his forehead. The two basically never had to pay for stuff or Mickey took care of financial dilemmas with magic. Sure, if IRS would ever come over, this would be heard to explain, but if you already had a witch husband, you could as well use him for not having to pay taxes -makes you wonder about Melania Trump's abilities, doesn't it? 

"I had a pretty eventful day as well", Mickey said.  
"Oh yeah? Did Toby burn a lot of things while trying to light that candle?"  
"No, well, yes, but nothing I couldn't fix.", he said and wrapped his arms around Ian's neck.  
"What then? Did Featherby eat the cherries again?"  
"His name is Rudy and no." 

Ian started chuckling confused, "What then? Tell me?"  
Mickey smiled, "Show me your hand", he whispered. 

Ian raised his hand confused, Mickey smiled, took his hand and turned it so he could put something into his hand. He put his hand on top of Ian's, took it away again and Ian was holding a tiny baby shoe.

Ian stared at it and then looked at Mickey with an open mouth, "We are having another baby?"  
Mickey nodded, "Magical pregnancy tests are quite reliable." 

A magical pregnancy Test was basically a tiny potion Mickey would let a drop of blood from his finger fall into and it would change the colour eventually if he was expecting another baby. 

Ian grinned and kissed him passionately, "I love you so much, you make so fucking happy", he whispered. 

Mickey laughed, "I love you too. But this time I'm gonna look if I can contact some other witches for the birth."  
Ian nodded and kissed him again, "We will have a second baby, I can't believe it"  
"Is it so hard to believe? You were the one who was always talking about babies the last weeks. I'm not that bad at picking up on social cues", Mickey grinned and kissed him. 

Ian kissed him back and lightly pushed him against the kitchen counter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The End  
> Thanks for reading  
> Happy Halloween my witches 😘


End file.
